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BIBTEX RIS

The etiology of schizophrenia and the origin of language: Overview of a theory

2003; Elsevier BV; Volume: 44; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1053/comp.2003.50003

1532-8384

Marcelo T. Berlim, Betina S. Mattevi, Paulo Belmonte‐de‐Abreu, Timothy J. Crow,

Medical and Biological Sciences

Schizophrenia is present in all human populations with approximately the same incidence. Why does such illness persist given that it is associated with a reproductive disadvantage? What is the balancing advantage? A possible explanation is linked to human language. According to this hypothesis schizophrenia occurs as a manifestation of genetic diversity associated with language—the function by which Homo sapiens has separated from other primate species. Language originated by a genetic mutation that allowed the cerebral hemispheres to develop with a degree of specialization (or lateralization) reflected in cerebral asymmetries. Individuals with schizophrenia show lesser structural and functional brain asymmetries than the population as a whole, and this finding can be interpreted as a delay, or failure in, establishing hemispheric dominance for language. We review recent evidence supporting this theory.