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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
[Neurodevelopmental hypothesis in functional psychosis]
F Navarro-Mateu1, S Martínez, J Van Os
1Departamento de Salud Mental, Consejería de Sanidad y Política Social, Murcia, 30008, España. fernama@distrito.com
The neurodevelopmental hypothesis is supported for schizophrenia and affective disorders. However, risk factors are not specific to diagnostic categories, suggesting a continuum within functional psychoses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
Context:
- Schizophrenia and affective disorders are increasingly linked to neurodevelopmental origins.
- Current diagnostic categories within functional psychoses may not reflect distinct etiological pathways.
- Existing research often focuses on specific disorders, potentially overlooking shared underlying mechanisms.
Purpose:
- To review evidence supporting the neurodevelopmental hypothesis for schizophrenia and affective disorders.
- To critically examine the specificity of neurodevelopmental risk factors across diagnostic categories of functional psychoses.
- To introduce and discuss the advantages of a novel model proposing a psychopathological continuum within psychosis.
Summary:
- Evidence supports neurodevelopmental origins for both schizophrenia and affective disorders.
- A lack of specificity in risk factors and neurodevelopmental markers across functional psychoses challenges distinct diagnostic categories.
- A proposed model suggests a continuum of psychopathology within psychosis, offering a new framework for research.
Impact:
- Challenges traditional diagnostic boundaries in functional psychoses.
- Promotes a unified research strategy for understanding psychosis spectrum disorders.
- Encourages the investigation of shared neurodevelopmental pathways across psychiatric conditions.
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