Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia

Prof. Heinz Häfner studierte Medizin, Philosophie und Psychologie. Nach Weiterbildung zum Facharzt für Psychiatrie und Neurologie Habilitation und Berufung auf den Lehrstuhl für Psychiatrie. Planung, Gründung und Leitung des Zentralinstituts für Seelische Gesundheit, eines außeruniversitären nationalen Forschungsinstituts, das als Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts mit der Universität Heidelberg eng verbunden ist. 25 Jahre Sfb-Forschung, Mitglied des Advisory Committee for Biomedical Research der WHO, des Wissenschaftsrats und vieler nationaler und internationaler Forschungsgremien, Beratung mehrerer Staaten und Städte in Aufbau und Organisation von Diensten für die seelische Gesundheit. Forschungsleistungen auf dem Gebiet der psychiatrischen Epidemiologie, besonders bei affektiven, schizophrenen und Alterserkrankungen.

This book comprises the conferences and discussions presented at the 4th sym posium on the SEARCH FOR THE CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA, which took place in Guaruja, Brazil, November 1998. This series of symposia started in 1986, on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the University of Heidelberg, followed by two others in 1989 and 1993. From these meeting resulted three volumes that have been widely used as a reference for comprehensive reviews on the state of the art in schizophrenia research. They reflect the progresses result ing from the most relevant studies on the etiology of the disease. The spirit of the 4th "Search for the Causes" remains the same: again we gathered some of the most prominent researchers on schizophrenia to contrib ute not only with their own data, but also summing up the state of the art and the perspectives in their areas of work. The topics covered in 6 parts are Epide miology, Risk factors and antecedents, Genetics, Neuropathology and neuro chemistry, Brain imaging and function, and Treatment and rehabilitation. In this 4th volume were introduced in each topic a chapter on the "Balance of the Cen tury", to summarize what did we learn (and what we did not) in the last 100 years of schizophrenia research. We hope that this volume can help us to see how far we are in the Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia and how much further we still have to go before our problem can be solved.

I - Epidemiology.- The 100-Year Epidemiology of Schizophrenia.- Evidence for Universality and Uniformity of Schizophrenia around the World: Assessment and Implications.- Onset and Prodromal Phase as Determinants of the Course.- Psychosis as an Extreme of Continuous Variation in Dimensions of Psychopathology.- Epidemiology of Schizophrenia: Discussion.- II - Risk Factors and Antecedents.- Longitudinal Approaches to the Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia: Past, Present and Future.- Obstetric Complications: A Reappraisal.- Psychosis in Migrants: The Striking Example of African-Caribbeans Resident in England.- Social and Cognitive Abilities in Late Childhood.- Epidemiology in Schizophrenia Research: The Untapped Potential.- III - Genetics of Schizophrenia.- Searching for Susceptibility Genes in Schizophrenia.- Genetics of Schizophrenia - New Findings.- New Approaches to the Genetics of Schizophrenia: Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Studies of Nonpsychotic First Degree Relatives of People with Schizophrenia.- Pursuit of the Gene(s) by Industrial-Academic Collaboration.- Discussion: Current Status of the Search for Genes Accounting for Schizophrenia.- IV - Neuropathology and Neurochemistry.- Neuropathologies of Schizophrenia.- Recent Neuropathological Approaches in Schizophrenia Research: Analysis of Entorhinal and Thalamic Architecture.- Novel D2-Like Dopamine Receptors in Schizophrenic Brain.- The Membrane Phospholipid Concept of Schizophrenia.- Outstanding Issues in Neuropathology and Neurochemistry of Schizophrenia.- V - Brain Imaging and Function.- Brain Imaging and Function - The Balance of the Century.- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Schizophrenia.- Brain Imaging and Function - Discussion.- VI -Treatment and Rehabilitation.- Drug Treatment for Patients with Schizophrenia - A Balance of the Century.- Advances in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.- Neuroleptic Treatment of Schizophrenic Patients: How do Haloperidol and Clozapine Normalize Brain Blood Flow Patterns Associated with a Difficult Tone Recognition Task?.- Treatment Research and the Causes of Schizophrenia.- Closing Remarks.- Search for the Cause(s) of Schizophrenia: Heterogeneity or Homogeneity over a Lifetime Trajectory of Illness?.