Autonomic nervous system dysfunction in schizophrenia: impact on cognitive and metabolic health.

ABSTRACT: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a wide range of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms, along with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease that contribute to a 15-20-year reduced life expectancy. Autonomic dysfunction, in the form of increased sympathetic activity and decreased parasympathetic activity, is postulated to be implicated in SCZ and its treatment. The aim of this narrative review is to view SCZ through an autonomic lens and synthesize the evidence relating autonomic dysfunction to different domains of SCZ. Using various methods of assessing autonomic activity, autonomic dysfunction was found to be associated with multiple aspects of SCZ pathophysiology, including symptom severity, cognitive impairment, and the develop

SUBMITTER: Stogios N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8076312 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature