SCHIZOPHRENIA - DEVELOPMENTAL DISTURBANCE OF BRAIN AND MIND

Schizophrenia is the most severe of the mental illnesses and affects a pproximately 0.8% of the population in Western societies. Postmortem a nd neuroimaging studies show that patients with schizophrenia have sli ghtly larger cerebral ventricles than normal and a decrease in cortica l volume, most markedly in the left temporal lobe. These changes are p resent at diagnosis and appear to show little change over extended per iods of follow-up. Associated findings such as lack of normal cerebral asymmetry and cytoarchitectonic changes suggestive of impaired migrat ion of cortical neurons implicate aberrant neurodevelopment. Schizophr enics also show an excess of pregnancy and birth complications, and an association with prenatal exposure to maternal influenza. These and r eports of abnormal psychological development in preschizophrenic child ren add further support to the theory that the disorder has neurodevel opmental origins.