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Prenatal Factors in the Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2018

Matti O. Huttunen ,
Ricardo A. Machon  and
Sarnoff A. Mednick
Matti O. Huttunen*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, and Mental Health Research Unit, National Health Institute, Helsinki
Ricardo A. Machon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
Sarnoff A. Mednick
Affiliation:
Social Science Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
*
∗Kolmas linja 20 B 21, 00530 Helsinki, Finland
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Abstract

The excess of winter–spring births among individuals suffering from schizophrenia provides strong evidence for the existence of some prenatally occurring factors in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Recent epidemiological findings suggest that maternal viral infections during the second trimester of pregnancy may play a crucial role in the aetiology of adult schizophrenia. A ‘two-hit window’ hypothesis of the mechanism of action of prenatal factors in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia suggests at least two time-specific prenatal aetiological events. The observed association between prenatal viral infection and increased incidence of adult schizophrenia need not be a direct cytotoxic result of the viral infection, but may be caused indirectly, for example from foetal minor cerebral haemorrhages produced by the anticoagulant effects of aspirin.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 164 , Issue S23: Integrated Approach to Schizophrenia , April 1994 , pp. 15 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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