Schizophrenia and disordered sensorimotor control: challenges, mechanisms and opportunities

Albert Joseph; Rick A Adams; Fiona Gaughran; Oliver D Howes; Davide Martino; Francesca Morgante; Mark J Edwards

doi:10.1093/brain/awag064

Schizophrenia and disordered sensorimotor control: challenges, mechanisms and opportunities

Brain. 2026 Mar 7:awag064. doi: 10.1093/brain/awag064. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Albert Joseph^{1

2}, Rick A Adams^{3

4}, Fiona Gaughran^{1

5

6}, Oliver D Howes^{1

5

6

7}, Davide Martino⁸, Francesca Morgante⁹, Mark J Edwards¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.
² Department of Neurology, Royal London Hospital, London E1 1FR, UK.
³ Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London WC1V 6LG, UK.
⁴ Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AZ, UK.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London SE5 8AZ, UK.
⁶ National Institute for Health Research, Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London SE5 8AF, UK.
⁷ MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London W12 0HS, UK.
⁸ Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Hotchkiss Brain Unit, University of Calgary, Calgary T2N 1N4, Canada.
⁹ Neurosciences and Cell Biology Institute, Neuromodulation and Motor Control Section, City St George's University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UK.

PMID: 41793756
DOI: 10.1093/brain/awag064

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a common and often disabling neuropsychiatric condition. Whilst sensorimotor abnormalities such as dyskinesia, parkinsonism and motor incoordination are prevalent in schizophrenia, they are often attributed to medication side-effects or classified as neurological soft signs or catatonic phenomena. Here, we outline the prevalence, characteristics and challenges in accurate phenotyping of sensorimotor disturbances in schizophrenia, including amongst medication naïve individuals, demonstrating that sensorimotor dysfunction may be an integral manifestation of the disease process. We then review how current understanding regarding the pathogenesis of schizophrenia supports this possibility and consider how better characterisation of sensorimotor dysfunction may improve management and the development of novel treatments for schizophrenia, playing particular attention to the role of instrumental sensorimotor assessment.

Keywords: movement disorders; neuropsychiatry; parkinsonism; psychosis; schizophrenia; tardive dyskinesia.