The fact that the final step in brain development coincides with onset of puberty is the basis for the present neurodevelopmental hypothesis. Manic-depressive psychosis, usually characterized by no abnormality on computed tomography (CT), is considered a result of a very high rate of brain maturation (early puberty) with a persistent redundancy of neuronal synapses. Whereas in schizophrenia, late and slow brain maturation (late puberty) has led to reduced synaptic density and unspecific subtle structural deficits on CT scan. The sex and social differentials of the two disorders accord with this hypothesis. Schizophrenia is also a brain reaction to various adverse factors, but in these cases the cerebral atrophy is more pronounced, and the clinical picture varies greatly with a particular excess of males because of their susceptibility.
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