A Theoretical Model to Explain the Symptoms and Progression of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Through the use of a simplified model of consciousness this paper illustrates the symptoms of schizophrenia linked to neocortical structures and functions.  It makes the case that the bewildering and varied presentation of symptoms in schizophrenia can be analyzed and explained using such models.  The model is used to illustrate the central thesis of the paper, that schizophrenia is a disorder of neurogenesis which leads to progressive neurochemical, functional and neurophysiological changes that create the characteristic behaviors of the disease.