Childhood Motor Coordination and Adult Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Objective This study examined whether motor coordination difficulties assessed in childhood predict later adult schizophrenia-spectrum outcomes. Method A sample of 265 Danish children was administered a standardized childhood neurological examination in 1972 when participants were between 10 and 13 years old. Of the sample, 244 children had available diagnostic information as adults. Participants fell into one of three groups. Children whose mothers or fathers had a psychiatric hospital diagnosis of schizophrenia comprised the first group (N=94). Children who had at least one parent with a psychiatric record of hospitalization for a non-psychotic disorder comprised the second group (N=84). Children with no parental records of psychiatric hospitalization comprised the third group (N=66). Psychiatric outcomes of the offspring were assessed through psychiatric interviews in 1992 when participants were between 31 and 33 years of age, as well as through a scan of national psychiatric registers completed in May 2007. Results Results indicate that children who later developed a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (n=32) displayed significantly higher scores on a scale of coordination deficits compared with those who did not develop an identified mental illness (n=133). Conclusions Results from this study provide further support for the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, and underscore the potential role of cerebellar and/or basal ganglia abnormalities in the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Motor Symptoms and Schizophrenia

“…A combination of delayed neuromotor development and obstetric complications was shown to potentiate the risk of schizophrenia in adulthood [228]. Similarly, deficits in motor coordination at the age of 10 years were found to predict schizophrenia spectrum disorders 35 years later [229]. These findings were corroborated by structured analyses of childhood home videos that revealed increased neuromotor abnormalities and poorer motor skills in subjects who were later diagnosed with schizophrenia compared to their healthy siblings [230].…”

Errant ensembles: dysfunctional neuronal network dynamics in schizophrenia

“…[33]). As well as providing circumstantial evidence for cerebellar roles extending beyond motor control, these abnormalities may also reflect early steps in the development of the disease [34]. The prevalence of PV+ interneurons in the cerebellum may relate to structural changes in schizophrenia, and there is some evidence for altered GABAergic function in this region in both patients [35] and animal models [36].…”

Adaptation, Expertise, and Giftedness: Towards an Understanding of Cortical, Subcortical, and Cerebellar Network Contributions

“…Multiple studies have demonstrated that the cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum are critically involved in normal development, while they also play a central role in nearly all disorders [3,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. The models that have emerged, and which continue to be refined, obviate traditional corticocentric models of cognition.…”