Neurodevelopmental Models of Schizophrenia: Pathophysiologic Synthesis and Directions for Intervention Research

This paper examines contemporary models of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia from a neurodevelopmental perspective. Specifically, this article reviews recent research in the neuropathology, neuroimaging, and developmental psychopathology of schizophrenia, with an aim to critically evaluate several recent proposals concerning the nature and timing of both the neuroanatomic abnormalities underlying the disorder and their behavioral manifestations. Findings from the empirical literature are synthesized from the perspective of dual cytoarchitectonic trends theory of neurodevelopment, as well as in relation to current conceptions of the schizophrenia prodrome. The evidence shows that sufficient groundwork has been laid to begin longitudinal neuroimaging studies of adolescents at clinical risk for schizophrenia, to determine more definitively the pathophysiology of the disorder. Such information could have significant implications in terms of understanding the prediction, treatment, and, ultimately, prevention of schizophrenia.