BehindTheMedspeak: Schizophrenia is hardwired

In the March, 2005 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, scientists reported subtle but unmistakeable evidence that schizophrenia may originate in utero.

They found that schizophrenic patients have midline facial deformation distinguishable from the average shape of the midface in people without the disease.

This points to an event or process occurring during formation of the skull and brain during gestation.

Here's the abstract of the article.

A Three-Dimensional Morphometric Study of Craniofacial Shape in Schizophrenia

Background: Subtle dysmorphogenesis of the craniofacial region constitutes important corroborating evidence of the neurodevelopmental origins of schizophrenia.

Advances in facial visualization now allow for three-dimensional anthropometric evaluations of potentially greater discriminatory power in examining the complex geometric relationships of facial topography.

METHOD: Sixty-five anthropometrically derived landmarks were identified from three-dimensional facial images collected from 14 patients with schizophrenia and 11 comparison subjects, imaged with a high-resolution, portable laser scanner.

RESULTS: Using the Procrustes morphometric approach for shape analysis, the difference in mean shapes was highly significant, with patients exhibiting superoinferior elongation of the face.

CONCLUSIONS: The topography of craniofacial anomalies in schizophrenia is not random and points to midline deformation.