In Search of Madness: Schizophrenia and Neuroscience

Is definitive understanding of schizophrenia as a brain disease just around the corner? This book synthesizes twenty years of research into diverse fields such as the symptoms, biology, and neurochemistry of schizophrenia, exploring theories of the disease and possibilities for future research. In fact, it seems that schizophrenia patients differ from healthy people more in their cognition than in their biology, an understanding of which will revolutionize both neuroscience and psychiatry.

Table of Contents:
1: Illness and Evidence The Science of Schizophrenia Rules of Evidence Conclusion 2: The Nature of Symptoms Psychiatric Pioneers Symptoms and Diagnosis The Mind of Madness The Delusional World Counterfeit Experience Crazy Thoughts General Summary and Conclusions 3: The Mark of Madness Candidate Markers of Schizophrenia Traits and States Specificity Marking Genes Conclusions 4: Executive Incompetence The Search for the Schizophrenic Lesion The Frontal Brain and Its Mind Schizophrenia and the Frontal Mind Pictures of the Brain The Frontal-Executive Brain and its Contribution to Schizophrenia 5: The Biology of Meaning The Temporal Lobe and its Semantic Functions Schizophrenia and the Semantic Brain Neurobiology of the Temporal Lobe in Schizophrenia The Temporal-Semantic Brain and its Contribution to Schizophrenia 6: Neurochemical Tempest Dopamine: Modulator of Mind and Movement Serotonin: Chemical of Sleep and Moods Glutamate: The Brain's Workhorse General Summary and Conclusions 7: The Strangeness of Children Essentials of Genetics and Early Neurodevelopment Neurodevelopmental Evidence and Schizophrenia Abnormalities of Children Vulnerable to Schizophrenia Summary and Conclusions 8: Flights of Theory Root Problems for Theories of Schizophrenia Schizotaxia, Schizotypy and Schizophrenia Neurodevelopmental Diathesis-Stress Theories Summary and Synthesis 9: The End of the Beginning The Neuroscience Sweepstakes The Promissory Note Multiple Disease States The Anomaly at the Frontier of Mind and Brain Conclusion

Review :
"This book by Heinrichs is one of the most scholarly treatises by a single author that I have read in the past decade. What makes it unique is that it is written by a research neuropsychologist and that it attempts to integrate a vast array of clinical and research findings regarding the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. . . . . This book will be a treat for schizophrenia researchers in particular and clinical neuroscience researchers in general. It will serve as an excellent reference for students and trainees in psychiatry, psychology, neurology, and cognitive science. Although intensely evidence based, the book is highly readable and unfolds its content in an intellectually pleasing, systematic approach. . . . [F]or those in search of a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the major modern themes of schizophrenia research, this is a highly worthwhile book to own and to refer to repeatedly." -- Journal of Clinical Psychiatry "Since 1980, approximately 2,00 research articles per year have been published about schizophrenia. In this volume, Heinrichs York Univ., Toronto) reviews this literature and performs meta-analyses on 54 neurobiological, cognitive, and psychophysical factors thought to characterize schizophrenia. . .This work is an excellent illustration of the use of meta-analytic techniques. . .Individuals seeking neuroscientific explanations for schizophrenia must read it."--CHOICE "This book by Heinrichs is one of the most scholarly treatises by a single author that I have read in the past decade. What makes it unique is that it is written by a research neuropsychologist and that it attempts to integrate a vast array of clinical and research findings regarding the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. . . . . This book will be a treat for schizophrenia researchers in particular and clinical neuroscience researchers in general. It will serve as an excellent reference for students and trainees in psychiatry, psychology, neurology, and cognitive science. Although intensely evidence based, the book is highly readable and unfolds its content in an intellectually pleasing, systematic approach. . . . [F]or those in search of a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the major modern themes of schizophrenia research, this is a highly worthwhile book to own and to refer to repeatedly." -- Journal of Clinical Psychiatry "I admire someone like R. Walter Heinrichs who is not afraid to wrestle with a moving mountainHeinrichs has attempted to evaluate all studies on schizophrenia published since 1980 and to weigh the quality of evidence on various theories of this disease. To his credit, he does so by using rules of evidence, meta-analyses, calculations of the effect size, and than 1,000 references. In Search of Madness: Schizophrenia and Neuroscience is well organized and well writtenThe authors provide a practical review of acute psychopharmacology and behavioral intervention techniques to assist the clinician in this endeavor."--Psychiatric Services, E. Fuller Torrey