CHILDHOOD PRECURSORS & CLINICAL OUTCOME IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

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The proposed research is a series of investigations of the developmental precursors of schizophrenia and their relation with clinical outcome characteristics -- symptoms, neuropsychological profiles and brain morphology. Using childhood home-movies, the neuromotor and socioemotional aspects of schizophrenic patients' development will be documented from infancy through adolescence, and contrasted with that of sibling and nonfamilial controls as well as patients with affective disorders. The relation between the various aspects of childhood development and the characteristics of patients as adults will be examined. The research will also explore the roles of prenatal and perinatal factors and family history of mental illness in predicting developmental course and clinical outcome.