Biological Perspectives of Schizophrenia

The twenty-one chapters of this volume comprise the report of the Dahlem Workshop on Biological Perspectives of Schizophrenia held in Berlin, October 1986. Contributors examine biological processes involved in the etiology and pathenogenesis of schizophrenia, define gaps in our knowledge thereof, and indicate directions for future work. Topics covered include genetic factors (possible markers and new strategies), non-genetic factors (brain diseases, obstetrical complications, viral infections, and autoimmune processes), as well as structural factors (neuromorphometric and brain imaging findings and structural deviations). The reader will find arguments pro and con for the future significance of genetic linkage studies versus association studies, the potential role of SPEM disturbances, the retrovirus/transposon hypothesis, the rCBF hypofrontality phenomenon, and the significance of both anatomical and functional deviations in limbic structures.