Abstract
Schizotypy refers to a set of temporally stable traits that are observed in the general population and that resemble the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia. Here, we review evidence from studies on genetics, cognition, perception, motor and oculomotor control, brain structure, brain function, and psychopharmacology in schizotypy. We specifically focused on identifying areas of overlap between schizotypy and schizophrenia. Evidence was corroborated that significant overlap exists between the two, covering the behavioral brain structural and functional as well molecular levels. In particular, several studies showed that individuals with high levels of schizotypal traits exhibit alterations in neurocognitive task performance and underlying brain function similar to the deficits seen in patients with schizophrenia. Studies of brain structure have shown both volume reductions and increase in schizotypy, pointing to schizophrenia-like deficits as well as possible protective or compensatory mechanisms. Experimental pharmacological studies have shown that high levels of schizotypy are associated with (i) enhanced dopaminergic response in striatum following administration of amphetamine and (ii) improvement of cognitive performance following administration of antipsychotic compounds. Together, this body of work suggests that schizotypy shows overlap with schizophrenia across multiple behavioral and neurobiological domains, suggesting that the study of schizotypal traits may be useful in improving our understanding of the etiology of schizophrenia.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric condition with unknown etiology characterized by positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and thought disorder as well as cognitive deficits
In this article, we reviewed evidence of putative overlap between schizotypy and schizophrenia
We argued first that this overlap is apparent at the phenomenological level, with schizotypy traits resembling, in attenuated form, the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia
Summary
Schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric condition with unknown etiology characterized by positive symptoms (such as hallucinations and delusions), negative symptoms (such as avolition and psychomotor poverty), and thought disorder as well as cognitive deficits. The fully dimensional approach [23] is rooted in differential psychology and is based on the work of Eysenck and Claridge [7, 24,25,26,27] This approach treats schizotypy as a personality trait that is continually distributed in the general population. This trait shows individual differences and results, at its extreme high end, in a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Evidence for this approach stems from taxometric studies that consider positive skewness of sample distribution [7]. It should be noted that the scores of psychometric self-report questionnaires correlate highly with observer-ratings gained from clinical interviews [33, 45], further supporting the validity of these measures
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