There is an accumulating body of evidence that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., Weinberger, 1987). While the clinical expression of the illness is typically delayed for about 2 decades after birth, a small number of cases develop psychotic symptoms much earlier. Currently, the relationship between the child- and adult-onset forms of the disorder is poorly understood. This atypical early onset may represent a more severe variant of the illness. The proposed research will address the question of whether early-onset schizophrenia is qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the adult onset form at the level of symptomatic presentation and cognitive function, by administering a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and clinical evaluation to a sample of 24 neuroleptic-naive, first-episode schizophrenics aged 8-16 and a demographically matched normal control group. A neuropsychological deficit profile that is qualitatively similar to adult-onset patients (i.e., selective deficits in attention, verbal learning and memory) would provide evidence of continuity between the child- and adult-onset forms. At the level of clinical symptoms, which reflect cognitive function in the broadest sense, this study will assess the prevalence and severity of specific positive and negative symptoms to determine whether the distribution of symptoms is similar to that of first-episode adult patients. As the first study of drug-naive patients in this age range, these findings will advance understanding of neurodevelopmental origins of the illness.
