Schizophrenia as a Functional Disconnection Problem in the Brain

Studies by Schmitt et al. (2011) offer conclusive evidence that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder. While schizophrenia can be exacerbated by both genetic and environmental factors, the disease has been conclusively linked to developmental disconnectivity of the prefrontal cortex of the brain via neural imaging studies.

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that directly affects the way an individual talks, acts, and perceives the world. Schizophrenic patients often exhibit a loss of contact with reality and an inability to perceive their environment correctly. These individuals may see and hear things that are not real and these symptoms make it very difficult for patients to live and navigate normal daily tasks. Scientists have studied that onset of schizophrenia, finding that it frequently appears during the teenage to young adult years and is more severe in men than women. In recent years studies have...
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