ABSTRACT
Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome with both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative features. While it is challenging to determine the rates of schizophrenia in a given population, global estimates are approximately 0.5%–1% (Bromet & Fennig, 1999; Harrison, 1997; Lewis & Lieberman, 2000; Thaker & Carpenter, 2001). The causes of schizophrenia are gradually being elucidated, and substantial evidence now exists for several environmental risk factors, including advanced paternal age (Malaspina et al., 2002), prenatal nutritional deprivation (Susser et al., 1996), and in utero exposure to infection (Brown, 2011). Genetic and familial factors have also been implicated and suggest that gene–gene as well as gene–environment interactions may occur during pathogenesis.
