Edited by Steven M. Silverstein, Bita Moghaddam and Til Wykes
Despite major advances in methodology and thousands of published studies every year, treatment outcomes in schizophrenia have not improved over the last fifty years. Moreover, we still lack strategies for prevention and we do not yet understand how the interaction of genetic, developmental, and environmental factors contribute to the disorder. In this book, leading researchers consider conceptual and technical obstacles to progress in understanding schizophrenia and suggest novel strategies for advancing research and treatment. The contributors address a wide range of critical issues: the construct of schizophrenia itself; etiology, risk, prediction, and prevention; different methods of modeling the disorder; and treatment development and delivery. They identify crucial gaps in our knowledge and offer creative but feasible suggestions. These strategies include viewing schizophrenia as a heterogeneous group of conditions; adopting specific new approaches to prediction and early intervention; developing better integration of data across genetics, imaging, perception, cognition, phenomenology, and other fields; and moving toward an evidence-based, personalized approach to treatment requiring rational clinical decision-making to reduce functional disability.
ISBN: 9780262019620
Photographie: U. Dettmar
Lektorat: BerlinScienceWorks
Additional support is gratefully acknowledged from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Science Foundation).
“To date, progress has been painfully slow in revealing pathogenic mechanisms of schizophrenia and developing effective treatments for many of its devastating symptoms. This state of affairs partly reflects the daunting genetic and neurobiological complexity of this syndrome, but also reflects the persistence of the outdated view that schizophrenia represents one or a few conditions and of reductive explanations that focus on a single gene or neurotransmitter. This forward-looking volume breaks down barriers in multiple fields relevant to schizophrenia and should do much to propel schizophrenia research forward.”
Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute
“The multi-faceted and complex nature of schizophrenia makes an ideal topic for the distinctive Ernst Strüngmann Forum ‘treatment.’ This fascinating volume captures the current excitement in this fast-moving area by summarizing the outcomes of compelling head-to-head discussions on provocative position papers provided by leading experts writing from a variety of clinical and preclinical perspectives.”
Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology and Director, Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge
“Schizophrenia is a timely, provocative, and forward-looking volume of scholarly presentations and spirited discussions by international experts in the field. It covers a broad and ambitious range of topics, from genetics and cell biology to environmental risk factors to clinical phenomenology and clinical interventions including those targeting the social milieu, and it does so with depth and insight. The chapters share a theme of challenging prevailing dogma and proposing potentially paradigm-shifting solutions. This is a state-of-the-art compilation and a highly recommended read for researchers and clinicians interested in cutting-edge thought on this critically important and rapidly evolving subject.”
Director and CEO, Lieber Institute for Brain Development; Professor, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience, and The Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine