Psychopathology: The Evolving Science of Mental Disorder

The scientific study of mental disorder is exciting today because of discoveries in molecular genetics, cognitive processes, neurochemistry and neuroanatomy. The study of mental disorder has evolved from a primarily descriptive discipline into a mature science that encompasses both biological underpinnings and social and developmental work. Psychopathology combines these fields of research to present a comprehensive picture of psychosis. In this important volume, distinguished investigators from these fields present findings from their laboratories, as well as perspectives on areas of rapid growth and change. The editors also provide thoughtful overviews of four major topics in psychopathology research: brain mechanisms, thinking, development and genetics. This book will appeal to graduate students, clinicians and researchers in the fields of psychiatry, cognitive science and neuroscience.

• Topic of major social and public health importance • Approachable survey of the most important topics in the field • All-star cast of authors

List of contributors; Preface Steven Matthysse; Part I. Brain Mechanisms: 1. Editor’s introduction: from controversy to connectivity Francine M. Benes; 2. The functional parcellation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the heterogeneous facets of schizophrenia Patricia Goldman-Rakic; 3. Components of working memory deficit in schizophrenia Sohee Park and Gillian O’Driscoll; 4. Temporal lobe structural abnormalities in schizophrenia: a selective review and presentation of new magnetic resonance findings Martha E. Shenton; 5. Location, location, location: the pathway from behavior to brain locus in schizophrenia Deborah L. Levy; 6. The defects of affect and attention in schizophrenia: a possible neuroanatomical substrate Francine M. Benes; Part II. Development: 7. Editor’s introduction: methods in the developmental study of madness Jerome Kagan; 8. Developmental psychopathology: from attribution toward information Sheldon H. White; Comments Philip S. Holzman; 9. A paradoxical partnership: some historical and contemporary referents linking adult schizophreniform disorder and resilient children under stress Norman Garmezy; 10. A look at the evolution of developmental models of schizophrenia L. Erlenmeyer-Kimling; 11. Developmental theory: lessons from the study of risk and psychopathology Dante Cicchetti; 12. The return of the ancients: on temperament and development Jerome Kagan; Part III. Thinking: 13. Editor’s introduction: Upward toward phenomenology m downward toward physiology Steven Matthysse; 14. The psychometric assessment of schizophrenia proneness Jean P. Chapman and Loren J. Chapman; 15. Politeness in schizophrenia Roger Brown; Comments Philip S. Holzman; 16. Neuroleptic treatment effects in relation to psychotherapy, social skills training and social withdrawal in schizophrenics Herbert E. Spohn; Comments Philip S. Holzman; 17. Familial factors in the impairment of attention in schizophrenia: data from Ireland, Israel and the District of Columbia Allan F. Mirsky; 18. Parsing cognitive processes: psychopathological and neurophysiological constraints Anne Sereno; 19. Cognitive psychopathology in schizophrenia: explorations in language, memory, associations and movements Brendan A. Maher; Part IV. Genetics: 20. Editor’s introduction: contemporary issues in the genetics of psychopathological disorders Deborah L. Levy, Steven Matthysse and Philip S. Holzman; 21. Genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of schizophrenia Seymour S. Kety; 22. Problems and paradoxes in research on the etiology of schizophrenia Einar Kringlen; Comments Philip S. Holzman and Steven Matthysse; 23. Epistemological issues in psychiatric research Josef Parnas; 24. Searching for major genes in schizophrenia Kenneth K. Kidd; 25. The Drosophila eye and the genetics of schizophrenia Steven Matthysse; Part V. Response and Reflections: 26. Reflections on the developing science of psychopathology Philip S. Holzman; Author index; Subject index.

‘… a very useful, up-to-date treatment of psychopathological research … It has heightened my appreciation of progress achieved to date, of the outstanding problems remaining, and of the importance of a multileveled approach to the study of mental disorder. This book would be particulary suitable for psychiatry trainees and for researchers.’ Bryan Mowry, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry