Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Hulshoff Pol, H. E. Articles by Kahn, R. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Hulshoff Pol, H. E. Articles by Kahn, R. S. Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders Neurodevelopment

Prenatal Exposure to Famine and Brain Morphology in Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the effects of nutritional deficiency during the first trimester of pregnancy on brain morphology in patients with schizophrenia.METHOD: Nine schizophrenic patients and nine healthy comparison subjects exposed during the first trimester of gestation to the Dutch Hunger Winter were evaluated with magnetic resonance brain imaging, as were nine schizophrenic patients and nine healthy subjects who were not prenatally exposed to the famine.RESULTS: Prenatal famine exposure in patients with schizophrenia was associated with decreased intracranial volume. Prenatal Hunger Winter exposure alone was related to an increase in brain abnormalities, predominantly white matter hyperintensities.CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional deficiency during the first trimester of gestation resulted in an increase in clinical brain abnormalities and was associated with aberrant early brain development in patients with schizophrenia. Stunted brain development secondary to factors that affect brain growth during the first trimester of gestation may thus be a potential risk factor for developing schizophrenia.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Rasmussen Paternal age, size at birth, and size in young adulthood - risk factors for schizophrenia Eur. J. Endocrinol., November 1, 2006; 155(suppl_1): S65 - S69. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. L. Davis, D. G. Stewart, J. I. Friedman, M. Buchsbaum, P. D. Harvey, P. R. Hof, J. Buxbaum, and V. Haroutunian White Matter Changes in Schizophrenia: Evidence for Myelin-Related Dysfunction Arch Gen Psychiatry, May 1, 2003; 60(5): 443 - 456. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. E. Hulshoff Pol, D. Posthuma, W. F. C. Baare, E. J. C. De Geus, H. G. Schnack, N. E. M. van Haren, C. J. van Oel, R. S. Kahn, and D. I. Boomsma Twin-singleton differences in brain structure using structural equation modelling Brain, February 1, 2002; 125(2): 384 - 390. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. F.C. Baare, H. E. Hulshoff Pol, D. I. Boomsma, D. Posthuma, E. J.C. de Geus, H. G. Schnack, N. E.M. van Haren, C. J. van Oel, and R. S. Kahn Quantitative Genetic Modeling of Variation in Human Brain Morphology Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2001; 11(9): 816 - 824. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2000 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us