Schizophrenia: Biological Mechanisms
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severely debilitating mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. Although schizophrenia has been recognized for over 100 years, the causes and pathophysiological mechanisms of this illness remained rather elusive until recently. Evidence obtained during the last 3 decades suggests that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the structure and function of distributed brain regions. Multiple neurotransmitter systems have been implicated, as have both gray and white matter abnormalities. These structural alterations result in synaptic miscommunication at local neuronal circuits and long-distance functional disconnectivity, with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to these deficits. This article will discuss our current understanding of the biological and neurochemical bases of schizophrenia and will describe new pharmacological, genetic, and lesion models used for testing the mechanisms that underlie this devastating disease.
