Childhood behavioral characteristics and adult brain morphology in schizophrenia

It is well established that many schizophrenia patients manifest behavioral dysfunction long before the onset of clinical symptoms of illness. Some show signs of motor and socioemotional deficit as early as infancy. The present study examines the relations among childhood neuromotor, affective and behavior characteristics, and the association of these factors with adult brain morphology (MRI) in schizophrenia patients. Data on neuromotor functions and negative affect were obtained from coding of childhood films. Parents of patients provided information about six dimensions of childhood behavior problems. Analyses of data from patients and healthy siblings revealed that childhood neuromotor abnormalities and negative affect were associated with some of the behavioral dimensions. Among the patients, early childhood neuromotor deficits and negative affect were linked with greater ventricular enlargement in adulthood. The ratings of the behavior problem dimensions showed a complex relation with adult brain morphology, suggesting that externalized problems are linked with more abnormalities (smaller brain volume and larger ventricles), whereas internalized problems are associated with less abnormality. The findings are discussed in light of their implications for the developmental origins of brain abnormalities in schizophrenia.