Intellectual developmental disorders, autism, and schizophrenia spectrum: New boundaries in the neurodevelopmental perspective

Abstract

Background and aim

Recent evidences of clinical overlap, familial co-aggregation, and shared genetic alterations support a neurodevelopmental deviation to represent a probable common vulnerability factor not only for the psychiatric disorders included in the meta-structure of neurodevelopmental disorders, but also for other major psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia.

The present paper reviews the literature to identify (1) positive and negative implications of the increasing enlargement of the group of neurodevelopmental disorders and (2) most useful clinical aspect for re-defining diagnostic boundaries between syndromic groups.

Methods

The search purpose was reached through a systematic mapping of literature.

Results

The last years’ trend to increasingly enlarge the number of psychiatric features comprised in the autism spectrum should be better evaluated for potential negative impact on research and clinical resources for those autistic syndromes more reliable with Kanner's descriptions or associated with lower personal functioning profiles and different level of ID.

Crucial clinical aspects for the differentiation resulted to be age of onset, interest towards others, main positive symptoms, and anatomical anomalies of the central nervous system.

Conclusions

While on one hand the neurodevelopmental perspective might contribute to a better understanding of the multifactorial aetiopathogenetic mechanisms underlying many psychiatric disorders and provide new intervention strategies, on the other hand it might determine a premature abandonment of the traditional nosology and the appearance of very broad spectrum conditions covering all the range of current psychopathology.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.