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Childhood-onset schizophrenia: timely neurobiological research
K McKenna1, C T Gordon, J L Rapoport
1Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Objective:
To review timely research on childhood-onset schizophrenia in view of advances in biological research on, and neurodevelopmental theories of, the later-onset disorder.
Method:
Research issues are outlined including further clarification of ICD- and DSM-defined childhood schizophrenia, and differentiation from autism "spectrum" and other subtle, chronic developmental disorders. Key neurobiological advances are reviewed for which child studies are relevant and feasible.
Conclusion:
It is anticipated that narrowly defined childhood-onset schizophrenics will constitute a predominantly male population. A high rate of family illness or chromosomal and/or brain developmental abnormalities, which will be instructive regarding the pathophysiology of later-onset schizophrenia, is expected.