The DOI matches its Crossref record; 94 of the 95 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Schizophrenia as the price that Homo sapiens pays for language: a resolution of the central paradox in the origin of the species
Abstract
The central paradox of schizophrenia is that the condition, apparently genetic in origin, persists in spite of a substantial fecundity disadvantage. The hypothesis is proposed that the predisposition to schizophrenia is a component of Homo sapiens-specific variation associated with the capacity for language. A genetic change (the 'speciation event', predicted to be related to the Xq21.3 to Yp chromosomal transposition that separates Homo sapiens from the great apes) allowed the hemispheres to develop with a 'cerebral torque', reflected particularly in association cortex, from right frontal to left occipital. Variations in the dimension of lateralization are associated with differences in the rate at which verbal and non-verbal ability develops. The nuclear symptoms of schizophrenia can be understood as a failure to establish dominance for a key component - the phonological sequence - of language in one hemisphere, with consequent disruption of the mechanism of 'indexicality' that allows the speaker to distinguish his thoughts from the speech output that he generates and the speech input that he receives and decodes from others.
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“Notably, it was proposed that the higher cognitive capacities in humans were acquired at the cost of increased susceptibility to mental disease17–19.”
From Distinct selective forces and Neanderthal introgression shaped genetic diversity at genes involved in neurodevelopmental disorders (2017) · cites this paper as [17]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Crow, T.
- Affiliations
- Warneford Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Crow, T
- Venue
- Brain Research Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2000-03
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 2-3
- Pages
- 118-129
- ISSN
- 0165-0173 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2082220470
- Cited by
- 387
- References
- 95
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 4.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Brain Research Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
- Keywords
- schizophrenia, origin of language, human, speciation events, hemispheric lateralization, association cortex, hemispheric dominance, indexicality, great apes
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Humans, Language, Schizophrenia, Hominidae
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