Even if you don’t know anyone who has schizophrenia, chances are you’re familiar with the symptoms.
People with the condition may experience hallucinations, delusions and paranoia, as well as have difficulty concentrating, organizing their thoughts and doing basic tasks of everyday life.
For many years, doctors had little insight into the illness beyond patients’ self-reported symptoms. The causes of schizophrenia, and the way it impacts the brain, were mostly a mystery due to the unique challenges researchers faced in trying to understand the most complex—and least accessible—organ in the body.