Neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia refers to a model which proposes that genetic vulnerability and early neurodevelopmental insults result in impaired connections among many brain regions. This defective neural circuitry is then vulnerable to dysfunction and ultimately revealed by developmental processes and events during puberty and by exposure to stress.
The neurodevelopmental model is consistent with findings that infants and children who later develop schizophrenia often display developmental impairments in motor, language, cognitive, and social functioning well before the onset of their psychotic symptoms.