ABSTRACT

Schizophrenia is a disorder that presents with problems in perception, structure of thought, concepts of self, cognitive functions, volition, and emotions. It often evolves into a chronic disorder, with highly damaging effects on personal functioning. More than 100 years ago Kraepelin proposed that schizophrenia might result from an underlying organic brain disorder (Kraepelin, 1919). In their seminal paper in 1987, Murray and Lewis formulated a neurodevelopmental theory for schizophrenia, suggesting that an abnormal development of the central nervous system is in fact central to the pathogenesis of this illness (Murray & Lewis, 1987). As posited by this hypothesis, alterations in brain morphology would be present in the earliest stage of schizophrenia, and not be progressive, as sequelae of earlier events of aetiological importance.