Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- NEURODEVELOPMENTAL MECHANISMS IN PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
- Part One Basic Mechanisms in Prenatal, Perinatal, and Postnatal Neurodevelopmental Processes and Their Associations with High-Risk Conditions and Adult Mental Disorders
- Part Two Animal Models of Neurodevelopment and Psychopathology
- Part Three Models of the Nature of Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Developmental Course of Psychopathology
- Part Four The Neurodevelopmental Course of Illustrative High-Risk Conditions and Mental Disorders
- 17 Neurobiology of Personality Disorders: Implications for a Neurodevelopmental Model
- 18 Genesis and Epigenesis of Psychopathology in Children with Depressed Mothers: Toward an Integrative Biopsychosocial Perspective
- 19 The Neurobiology of Child and Adolescent Depression: Current Knowledge and Future Directions
- 20 Psychosocial Stressors as Predisposing Factors to Affective Illness and PTSD: Potential Neurobiological Mechanisms and Theoretical Implications
- 21 Neurohormonal Aspects of the Development of Psychotic Disorders
- Index
- References
21 - Neurohormonal Aspects of the Development of Psychotic Disorders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- NEURODEVELOPMENTAL MECHANISMS IN PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
- Part One Basic Mechanisms in Prenatal, Perinatal, and Postnatal Neurodevelopmental Processes and Their Associations with High-Risk Conditions and Adult Mental Disorders
- Part Two Animal Models of Neurodevelopment and Psychopathology
- Part Three Models of the Nature of Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Developmental Course of Psychopathology
- Part Four The Neurodevelopmental Course of Illustrative High-Risk Conditions and Mental Disorders
- 17 Neurobiology of Personality Disorders: Implications for a Neurodevelopmental Model
- 18 Genesis and Epigenesis of Psychopathology in Children with Depressed Mothers: Toward an Integrative Biopsychosocial Perspective
- 19 The Neurobiology of Child and Adolescent Depression: Current Knowledge and Future Directions
- 20 Psychosocial Stressors as Predisposing Factors to Affective Illness and PTSD: Potential Neurobiological Mechanisms and Theoretical Implications
- 21 Neurohormonal Aspects of the Development of Psychotic Disorders
- Index
- References
Summary
The major mental illnesses, most notably schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, typically have their onset in young adulthood, and often lead to a lifetime of chronic disability. The possibility of preventing these illnesses has received increasing attention in the past few years (McGorry & Edwards, 1998; Wyatt, Apud, & Potkin 1996). This trend has been fueled by evidence that the longer the duration of the initial untreated episodes of psychosis, the worse the long-term prognosis (Wyatt, 1995). Also, the availability of atypical antipsychotic medications that have fewer immediate side effects has contributed to interest in psychosis prevention.
The first step in the prevention process is the identification of vulnerable individuals. It is well established that the clinical onset of schizophrenia is preceded by behavioral dysfunction. In some cases, preschizophrenic individuals manifest consistent dysfunction that is apparent within the first few years of life, extends throughout childhood, and becomes more pronounced in adolescence (Larsen, McGlashan, Johannessen, & Vibe-Hansen, 1996; Walker, Baum, & Diforio, 1998). Others show relatively normal childhood development, then a precipitous decline that begins in adolescence. Based on the best available evidence, about 70 percent of adult-onset patients manifested behavioral dysfunction in adolescence (Larsen et al., 1996; Neumann, Grimes, Walker, & Baum, 1995; Yung & McGorry, 1996). Thus, many view adolescence/early adulthood as the most plausible developmental stage for initiating prevention.
In parallel with the increasing emphasis on prevention, there has been a resurgence of interest in the neurodevelopmental changes that accompany pubertal maturation.
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- Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms in Psychopathology , pp. 526 - 544Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
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