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Children at risk for schizophrenia: the Jerusalem Infant Development Study. II. Neurobehavioral deficits at school
J Marcus1, S L Hans, J G Auerbach
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Ill.
Insights
Children of parents with schizophrenia show higher rates of neurobehavioral dysfunction. These perceptual-cognitive and motor deficits appear early, suggesting a potential vulnerability to schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Psychiatric Genetics
Background:
- Children born to parents with serious mental disorders are at increased risk.
- Longitudinal studies are crucial for understanding developmental trajectories in at-risk populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess neurobehavioral development in school-age children of parents with serious mental disorders.
- To identify early markers of potential neurodevelopmental dysfunction and schizophrenia vulnerability.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal follow-up from birth (Jerusalem Infant Development Study).
- Assessment of perceptual-cognitive and motoric tasks in school-aged children.
- Comparison between offspring of schizophrenic parents and controls (healthy or other psychiatric disorders).
Main Results:
- Offspring of schizophrenic parents exhibited significantly more perceptual-cognitive and motoric neurobehavioral dysfunction (44%) compared to controls.
- Male subjects were overrepresented in the dysfunctioning group.
- Perceptual-cognitive deficits were strongly linked to parental diagnosis and infant dysfunction, while motoric signs related to birth complications.
Conclusions:
- Early neurobehavioral deficits, particularly perceptual-cognitive ones, may indicate vulnerability to schizophrenia (schizotaxia hypothesis).
- These deficits are observable in school-age children, preceding the typical onset of schizophrenia.
- While these signs are not exclusive to schizophrenia, their higher prevalence in offspring of schizophrenic parents warrants further investigation into their predictive validity.
Abstract:
The development of school-age children born to parents with serious mental disorders was assessed on a variety of perceptual-cognitive and motoric tasks. These same children have been followed up from birth as part of the Jerusalem Infant Development Study. Children with schizophrenic parents, when compared with children with healthy parents or parents having other psychiatric disorders, were more likely to show neurobehavioral dysfunctioning in perceptual-cognitive and motoric areas. Forty-four percent of the offspring of schizophrenics (11 of 25 subjects) showed such dysfunctioning. Male subjects were overrepresented in this poorly functioning group. A stable subgroup (40%) of the offspring of schizophrenics (six of 15 subjects) showed dysfunctioning during infancy and school age. None of the offspring of nonschizophrenic parents showed dysfunctioning during both age periods. While most of the poorly functioning children with schizophrenic parents showed perceptual-cognitive and motoric signs, only perceptual-cognitive signs were strongly linked to parental diagnosis and infant dysfunctioning. Motoric signs, but not cognitive signs, were related to pregnancy and birth complications. These findings provide further support to the schizotaxia hypothesis that some neurointegrative deficits may reflect vulnerability to schizophrenia and that these deficits are clearly apparent at school age, long before the onset of illness. However, these signs are not exclusive to schizophrenic illness, although they occur with a greater prevalence in this group. Definitive statements about the validity of early neurobehavioral signs as indicators of genetic vulnerability await further longitudinal follow-up into the age of risk for actual schizophrenic breakdown or when a diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder may be made.