Recent postmortem and neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia delineate changes in brain
structure and volume that appear to arise from a reduction of neuritic processes (such as
dendrites and synapses) rather than loss of neuronal or glial cell bodies. To account for
these findings, we propose a pathophysiological model of reduced synaptic connectivity
arising from disturbances of brain development active during perinatal and adolescent
periods. We review a computer simulation of the elimination of the synaptic connections that …