Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (519 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A severe emotional disorder of psychotic depth characteristically marked by a retreat from reality with delusion formation, hallucinations, emotional disharmony, and regressive behavior.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Schizophrenias; Dementia Praecox; Schizophrenic Disorders; Disorder, Schizophrenic; Disorders, Schizophrenic; Schizophrenic Disorder.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders
- Narrower topics
- Schizophrenia, Catatonic; Schizophrenia, Disorganized; Schizophrenia, Paranoid; Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant; Shared Paranoid Disorder
Related concepts
- Hallucinations
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 123,858 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Schizophrenia” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 19,073 of them (15.4%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 45,954 records.
Reviews account for 17,868 records (14.4%) and meta-analyses for 2,631. Randomized controlled trials number 5,111 (4.1%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 45,954 |
| 2000-2009 | 26,268 |
| 2010-2019 | 32,563 |
| 2020 onward | 19,073 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 17,868 | 14.4% |
| Meta-analyses | 2,631 | 2.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 5,111 | 4.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Schizophrenia"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in psychiatry and psychology
Research on mental health and behaviour relies on questionnaires, interviews and rating scales rather than physical measurements, so how a condition was defined and measured shapes every result. Many studies are observational or small, placebo responses can be large, and findings in one group or culture may not carry over to another. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; anyone worried about their mental health should talk to a qualified clinician. Check how outcomes were measured, who took part and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schizophrenia risk gene ZNF804A controls ribosome localization and synaptogenesis in developing human neurons | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42160410 · DOI · PMC13189102 |
| Linking reduced prefrontal microcircuit inhibition in schizophrenia to EEG biomarkers in silico | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42228689 · DOI · PMC13229350 |
| Contribution of copy number variants to schizophrenia in East Asian populations | 2026 | Meta-analysis Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42728386 · DOI · PMC13649597 |
Schizophrenia risk gene ZNF804A controls ribosome localization and synaptogenesis in developing human neurons [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- ZNF804A was among the first genes robustly associated with schizophrenia based on findings from large-scale genomic studies.
- Closing excerpt
- Overall, these results demonstrate that in human developing cortical glutamatergic neurons, ZNF804A regulates excitatory synapse formation potential via increased local protein translation.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (150 words)
ZNF804A was among the first genes robustly associated with schizophrenia based on findings from large-scale genomic studies. Previous research has implicated ZNF804A in the regulation of gene expression and synaptic function, but the role of this gene in neurodevelopment and in schizophrenia pathogenesis remains unclear. To study its function during neurodevelopment, we generated isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cells with reduced ZNF804A expression, differentiated them into developing cortical glutamatergic neurons, and studied their transcriptomic, synaptic, and protein signatures. Mutant neurons showed modest evidence for changes in gene expression. However, high-content confocal imaging revealed increased excitatory synapse density in mutant neurons. Cell compartment-specific proteomic analysis further revealed that mutant neurons had higher levels of ribosomal and translational proteins within neurites, and high-content imaging confirmed increased local protein synthesis efficiency. Overall, these results demonstrate that in human developing cortical glutamatergic neurons, ZNF804A regulates excitatory synapse formation potential via increased local protein translation.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42160410 · DOI · PMC13189102
Linking reduced prefrontal microcircuit inhibition in schizophrenia to EEG biomarkers in silico [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Reduced cortical inhibition by parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons in schizophrenia is thought to be associated with impaired processing in the prefrontal cortex and altered EEG signals such as oddball mismatch negativity (MMN).
- Closing excerpt
- Our study thus links reduced PV and SST interneuron inhibition in schizophrenia to distinct EEG biomarkers that can serve to improve stratification and early detection using non-invasive brain signals.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (217 words)
Reduced cortical inhibition by parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons in schizophrenia is thought to be associated with impaired processing in the prefrontal cortex and altered EEG signals such as oddball mismatch negativity (MMN). Recent studies also suggest loss of somatostatin (SST) interneuron inhibition. However, establishing the link between reduced interneuron inhibition and reduced MMN experimentally in humans is currently not possible. To overcome these challenges, we simulated spiking activity and EEG during baseline and oddball response in detailed models of human prefrontal microcircuits in health and schizophrenia, with reduced PV and SST interneuron inhibition as constrained by postmortem patient data. We showed that reduced PV interneuron inhibition can account for the decreased MMN amplitude seen in schizophrenia, with a threshold below which the amplitude effect was low as seen in at-risk patients. In contrast, reduced SST interneuron inhibition did not affect the MMN amplitude. We further showed that both types of inhibition loss were necessary to account for changes in resting EEG in schizophrenia, with reduced SST interneuron inhibition increasing broadband power, and reduced PV and SST interneuron inhibition both leading to a right shift from alpha to beta frequencies. Our study thus links reduced PV and SST interneuron inhibition in schizophrenia to distinct EEG biomarkers that can serve to improve stratification and early detection using non-invasive brain signals.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42228689 · DOI · PMC13229350
Contribution of copy number variants to schizophrenia in East Asian populations [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Studies on schizophrenia-associated rare copy number variants (CNVs) have predominantly focused on people of European (EUR) ancestry.
- Closing excerpt
- Overall, this study underscores the importance of increasing population diversity to fully capture the genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (152 words)
Studies on schizophrenia-associated rare copy number variants (CNVs) have predominantly focused on people of European (EUR) ancestry. Here we present a rare CNV study of schizophrenia in East Asian (EAS) populations, comprising 20,903 cases and 23,258 controls. We observed a significantly elevated genome-wide rare CNV burden in EAS cases compared with controls. Cross-population comparisons showed largely consistent rare CNV effects on schizophrenia risk. In the EAS sample, we identified nine genome-wide-significant schizophrenia-associated rare CNV loci. Meta-analysis with EUR data yielded 14 significant loci, including 8 that reached genome-wide significance for the first time. Genes within these 14 loci were significantly less tolerant to loss-of-function variants than genes in other CNV loci. The new rare CNVs associated with schizophrenia in EAS populations showed higher carrier frequencies in EAS than in EUR populations (0.38% versus 0.0017%). Overall, this study underscores the importance of increasing population diversity to fully capture the genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42728386 · DOI · PMC13649597
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Depression pathophysiology, risk prediction of recurrence and comorbid psychiatric disorders using genome-wide analyses [4]
- Research article Antipsychotic Drugs and Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis [5]
- Research article Treatment resistance in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of prevalence and correlates [6]
- Research article Prevalence of multimorbidity in people with and without severe mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis [7]
- Research article Minocycline as Treatment for Psychiatric and Neurological Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [8]
- Research article Anti-inflammatory effects of 2nd generation antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
What genes are differentially expressed in individuals with schizophrenia? A systematic review
Alison K Merikangas, Matthew Shelly, Alexys Knighton et al. · Molecular Psychiatry 2022 · CC BY 4.0
Effects of inflammation on the kynurenine pathway in schizophrenia — a systematic review
Bruno Pedraz-Petrozzi, Osama Elyamany, Christoph Rummel et al. · Journal of Neuroinflammation 2020 · CC BY 4.0
Artificial intelligence and machine learning‐aided drug discovery in central nervous system diseases: State‐of‐the‐arts and future directions
Sezen Vatansever, Avner Schlessinger, Daniel Wacker et al. · Medicinal Research Reviews 2020 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Sichlinger L, Hausherr M, Guerrisi S, Dutan-Polit L, Chennell G, Nagy R, et al.. Schizophrenia risk gene ZNF804A controls ribosome localization and synaptogenesis in developing human neurons. . 2026. PMID 42160410 · DOI · PMC13189102
- Rosanally S, Mazza F, Yao HK, Moghbel F, Seo H, Hay E. Linking reduced prefrontal microcircuit inhibition in schizophrenia to EEG biomarkers in silico. . 2026. PMID 42228689 · DOI · PMC13229350
- Chen Y, Feng Q, Lam M, Yu M, Sun Y, Huai C, et al.. Contribution of copy number variants to schizophrenia in East Asian populations. . 2026. PMID 42728386 · DOI · PMC13649597
- Als TD, Kurki MI, Grove J, Voloudakis G, Therrien K, Tasanko E, et al.. Depression pathophysiology, risk prediction of recurrence and comorbid psychiatric disorders using genome-wide analyses. Nat Med. 2023. PMID 37464041 · DOI · PMC10839245
- Feber L, Peter NL, Chiocchia V, Schneider-Thoma J, Siafis S, Bighelli I, et al.. Antipsychotic Drugs and Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2025. PMID 39412783 · DOI · PMC11581732
- Diniz E, Fonseca L, Rocha D, Trevizol A, Cerqueira R, Ortiz B, et al.. Treatment resistance in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of prevalence and correlates. Braz J Psychiatry. 2023. PMID 37718484 · DOI · PMC10894625
- Halstead S, Cao C, Høgnason Mohr G, Ebdrup BH, Pillinger T, McCutcheon RA, et al.. Prevalence of multimorbidity in people with and without severe mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry. 2024. PMID 38642560 · DOI
- Panizzutti B, Skvarc D, Lin S, Croce S, Meehan A, Bortolasci CC, et al.. Minocycline as Treatment for Psychiatric and Neurological Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Mol Sci. 2023. PMID 36982324 · DOI · PMC10049047
- Patlola SR, Donohoe G, McKernan DP. Anti-inflammatory effects of 2nd generation antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Psychiatr Res. 2023. PMID 36804109 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
See how EvidenceLib is built. Spotted an error? Email support@evidencehelix.com.
Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.