From adolescent neurogenesis to schizophrenia: opportunities, challenges and promising interventions

ABSTRACT Schizophrenia is a maldevelopmental disease with multifactorial etiopathogenesis linked to disturbances in the prenatal/perinatal environment and to social factors and/or addictive drugs consumption during adolescence/young adulthood. Adolescence has been demonstrated to represent a very sensitive period for brain development. Exposure to adverse life events (chronic social isolation and/or instability) and/or addictive drugs (opioids, cocaine, cannabinoids, alcohol, nicotine) during adolescence has been linked to deviations in the normal neurodevelopment, producing a brain particularly at risk of mental diseases. Several psychopharmacological drugs and environmental factors have been reported to protect against the detrimental effect on neurogenesis caused by the aforementioned genetic and/or epigenetic vulnerabilities. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is one of the strongest stimuli of adult/adolescent neurogenesis and a promising neuromodulator to prevent and/or ameliorate the various behavioral and cognitive schizophrenic symptoms.