The mechanisms of schizophrenia

Abstract

Current investigations of the mechanisms of schizophrenia usually employ one of three possible explanatory models: a single disease entity model, a multiple disease entity model, and a dimensions of psychopathology model. None of these is at present preeminent. These models are used to explore four different types of mechanisms that may produce the symptoms of schizophrenia: neurodevelopmental, neural circuitry, genetic/molecular mechanisms, and chemical anatomy.