Comparing Evidence for Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Models of Schizophrenia: Do Effects of Schizophrenia Genetic Risk on Cortical Thickness and Cortical Surface Area Vary by Age?

Abstract

Risk for schizophrenia peaks during late adolescence and early adulthood, a critical period for brain development (Häfner, 2003). Although several influential theoretical models have been proposed for the developmental relationship between brain pathology and clinical onset, to our knowledge, no study has directly evaluated the predictions of these models for schizophrenia developmental genetic effects on brain structure.