Time course of cerebral ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia supports the hypothesis of its neurodevelopmental nature.

ABSTRACT

In the absence of direct and conclusive data demonstrating the 'neurodevelopmental hypothesis' of schizophrenia, several neuromorphological findings provide relevant clues in support of it. In this paper, we review a number of results obtained by our group in this area of research. In particular, the demonstration of stability of cerebral ventricular dimensions both in chronic schizophrenia and around the onset of the disease, and that of an identical effect of ageing on this morphological feature in large samples of patients and controls, strongly support the neurodevelopmental nature of brain pathomorphology in schizophrenia.