There is no known single cause of schizophrenia. Many diseases, such as heart disease, result from an interplay of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors; and this may be the case for schizophrenia as well. Scientists do not yet understand all of the factors necessary to produce schizophrenia, but all the tools of modern biomedical research are being used to search for genes, critical moments in brain development, and environmental factors that may lead to the illness.

NIH - 1999 Posted 04/09/2004