Disturbance of prenatal brain development and/or postnatal brain maturation in the context of the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenic psychoses is increasingly recognized as the developmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. This hypothesis is based on findings in neuroimaging and neuroanatomical findings in schizophrenic disorders. Cell adhesion molecules, such as the cadherins, are of critical importance for morphogenesis in the CNS during embryonic development. Recent investigations of the genomic organization and chromosomal localization of cadherins show a remarkable association with linkage results in affected multiplex pedigrees. Taken together, these findings should lead to an investigation of the role of cadherins in complex psychiatric disorders.