Schizophrenia : hope from emerging technologies

Abstract

The impact of two emerging technologies (brain imaging and molecular genetics) on the understanding of schizophrenia, and the extent to which advances in the understanding of the disorder have been reflected in advances in treatment or an alteration in the prognosis are reviewed. Treatment of schizophrenia still relies heavily on partly substantiated neurochemical hypotheses about the role of neurotransmitters in the genesis or expression of schizophrenic symptoms. These treatments have had little effect on the prognosis of the more severe types of schizophrenia. Brain imaging techniques and molecular genetics may however offer fresh insights into the nature and transmission of the disorder which could lead to advances in early recognition and prevention, and to radically new ways of classifying psychiatric disorders.