title: Neurodevelopment or neurodegeneration: review of theories of schizophrenia.
abstract: Many hypothesis have tried to explain the aetiology of schizophrenia, the abnormal neurodevelopmental hypothesis is one of the most widely acknowledged and is based on the presence of both prenatal and perinatal disorders, differences in IQ or the existence of genetic abnormalities, which, with the interaction of certain environmental factors, schizophrenia could occur at some point in the development. This hypothesis provides a good account of how these factors result in an alteration in the normal development and how they can lead to a disorder of schizophrenia. On the other hand, a smaller but not insignificant number of studies based on variables such as the presence of neurotoxicity in the brains of individuals with schizophrenia, alterations at the structural and brain connectivity, suggest the existence of a degenerative process in the course of this disease. In this work, we review the different factors underlying both hypotheses, some of which are difficult to categorize in either approach given the controversy and lack of consensus in their interpretation of the available data. Finally, we discuss the need for a non-exclusive alternative model to help understand the available evidence on the origin, course and consequences of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Psiquiatría, Hospital General de Granollers – Benito Menni CASM Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Barcelona.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pino
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Barcelona Instituto de Investigación en Cerebro, Cognición y Conducta (IR3C).
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guilera
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Barcelona Instituto de Investigación en Cerebro, Cognición y Conducta (IR3C).
authors.forename: Juana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Benito
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Barcelona.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Najas-García
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Metodología de las Ciencias del Comportamiento, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Barcelona.
authors.forename: Sílvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rufián
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Psiquiatría, Hospital General de Granollers – Benito Menni CASM.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rojo
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000209:etiology*