BACKGROUND The adaptability of the human brain to the constantly changing environment is reduced in patients with psychotic disorders, leading to impaired cognitive functions. Brain signal complexity, which may reflect adaptability, can be readily quantified via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals. We hypothesized that resting-state brain signal complexity is alte...

Since Emil Kraepelin classified psychosis into 3 major categories (organic, affective, and schizophrenic) in the late 19th century, the unitary concept of psychosis was abandoned. This categorical conceptualization of psychosis was more or less accepted by clinicians through the 20th century with some refinements. During my residency training, teachers would highlight qualitative differences in...

The schizophrenia spectrum disorders are a group of psychiatric diagnoses that share several clinical features, typically involving reality distortion. Each is considered a disorder, diagnosed with a distinct set of diagnostic criteria. Spectrum conveys the idea that they are somehow similar to each other. Such similarity could be defined on purely clinical grounds or at the level of disease me...

Schizophrenia patients and a subset of patients with bipolar disorder suffer from psychosis. Both disorder have been found to have shared genetic risk factors. In order to assess these claims further, endophenotypes for these disorders need to be established. Electroencephalography provides a means for measuring low level auditory processing through event related potentials. In the study a dich...

While schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been assumed to share phenotypic and genotypic features, there is also evidence for overlapping brain structural correlates, although it is unclear whether these relate to shared psychotic features. In this study, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM8) in 34 schizophrenia patients, 17 euthymic bipolar I disorder patients (with a history of psychotic...

For diagnosis of patients with comorbid psychotic symptoms and substance use disorders (SUDs), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, makes clear distinctions between independent psychotic disorders (eg, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) and substance-induced syndromes (eg, delirium, dementias). Most substance-induced psychotic symptoms are considered to be short ...

AIM The primary aim of the research was to identify factors which are associated with the appearance of induced psychotic disorders. The psychological and social factors and cultural diversity of symptoms and course of folie à deux were taken into account. METHOD The author's review of literature on the topic of folie à deux. RESULTS Folie à deux was first described in the 19th century. Sin...

We examined whether insecure attachment styles mediate the association between childhood trauma and nonclinical psychotic phenomena in 546 young adults. Fearful attachment mediated the associations of physical/emotional trauma with schizotypy, suspiciousness, and psychotic-like experiences. Results support theoretical accounts implicating attachment disruptions in the pathway from childhood adv...

Meta-analyses report larger amygdala in subjects with bipolar disorder compared to schizophrenia. However, few studies have compared the size of amygdala in psychotic bipolar disorder with schizophrenia. Here we examine size of amygdala in a sample of 36 patients with psychotic bipolar disorder, 31 patients with schizophrenia and 27 healthy comparison subjects. Patients with schizophrenia had s...

OBJECTIVE Previous investigation has revealed stable olfactory identification deficits in neuroleptic-naive patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis, but it is unknown if these deficits predate illness onset. METHOD The olfactory identification ability of 81 patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis was examined in relation to that of 31 healthy comparison subjects. Twenty-two of th...