Abstract
Diverse lines of research suggest that schizophrenia is a genetically influenced neurodevelopmental disorder. Family, twin, and adoption studies suggest that most cases of schizophrenia involve a genetic diathesis that is necessary but not sufficient for development of the disorder. Histological, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological findings converge in providing evidence for medialtemporal and frontal lobe dysfunction that likely predates the onset of psychosis. Behavioral phenomenology and neurobiology suggest that dopamine plays a crucial moderating role between these structural abnormalities and functional impairment. Recently, investigators have used animal models and clinical syndromes to integrate these findings into neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia that hold great potential for yielding etiological insight.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 33-37 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Current Directions in Psychological Science |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright:Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Etiology
- Neurodevelopment
- Predisposition
- Schizophrenia