Schizophrenia, neurodevelopment and corpus callosum

Mol Psychiatry. 2003 Mar;8(3):261-74. doi: 10.1038/sj.mp.4001205.

Abstract

The Zeitgeist favors an interpretation of schizophrenia as a condition of abnormal connectivity of cortical neurons, particularly in the prefrontal and temporal cortex. The available evidence points to reduced connectivity, a possible consequence of excessive synaptic pruning in development. A decreased thalamic input to the cerebral cortex appears likely, and developmental studies predict that this decrease should entail a secondary loss of both long- and short-range cortico-cortical connections, including connections between the hemispheres. Indeed, morphological, electrophysiological and neuropsychological studies over the last two decades suggest that the callosal connections are altered in schizophrenics. However, the alterations are subtle and sometimes inconsistent across studies, and need to be investigated further with new methodologies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Agenesis of Corpus Callosum*
  • Cerebral Cortex / cytology
  • Corpus Callosum / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Neural Pathways / abnormalities
  • Neural Pathways / pathology
  • Schizophrenia / pathology*
  • Thalamus / cytology