Progress in biological psychiatry is contingent upon progress in neurobiology and progress in research of proper characterization and assessment of abnormal behavior. Advances in neurobiology are rapid and steady; however, advances are few and far between in psychopathology. In many ways, developments over the past two decades run counter to what I believe to be diagnostic pre-requisites for fruitful biological research in psychiatry. I presume this to be a major reason why thus far biology has made no significant contributions to the diagnoses of mental disorders.

For progress to occur in biological psychiatry, the traditional diagnostic philosophies and attitudes must be reevaluated and alternative diagnostic approaches put into practice. This and the diagnostic method of functional psychopathology are reviewed in this article, with a focus on how the functional psychopathological approach could contribute to the advancement of the diagnostic process in psychiatry, and the opportunities it provides for biological psychiatric research.

This review speculates on the changes currently taking place in psychopharmacology that will alter the course of psychotropic drug discovery and application in the coming millennium. The importance of endocoids as causative agents in central nervous system diseases; the role of neuropeptides and “trace” amine transmitters; the impact of imaging methods in elucidating the mechanism of action of psychotropic drugs; gene therapy; and the new role of psychoneuroimmunology in drug discovery are predicted to have a major impact in both the research and development of new psychotropic drugs in the twenty-first century.

Molecular biology techniques are used widely in the study of central nervous system structures and functions. The possibilities offered by such methodologies are attracting an increasing number of researchers for their versatility and for their promise to permit the investigation of different proteins, step by step, from gene transcription to posttranscriptional processes. Of particular interest is the study of the enzymes responsible for the synthesis and catabolism of neurotransmitters, as well as neuroreceptors.

Today, a general knowledge of such methods and of how they can be used in CNS studies is fundamental for psychiatrists, even if not directly involved in basic research, since it can be easily predicted that the next century will be characterized by an increasing application of these approaches to biological psychiatry. In this article, we describe gene expression methods and the aim of gene expression studies. We also present some general information on the various steps and techniques used for different purposes in biological psychiatry.

During the last 30 years, several studies in psychiatric genetics have been conducted. These include a series of clinical and family-oriented studies on genetic factors in schizophrenia, alcoholism, and manic-depressive disorder. Since these trials have taken place, great emphasis has been placed on the hypothesis that psychiatric disorders could have a genetic vulnerability. This hypothesis is supported by significant advancements in biological and mathematical analysis methods, as well as by the large number of epidemiological and diagnostic studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients' families. This article provides on overview of this research.

Many other hypotheses have been raised by the optimism of research, but are often followed by experimental failures. There are several pitfalls in methods, ranging from sample selection to genotyping to statistical analysis methods. Finally, the interpretations of the results often have been misunderstood. Nonetheless, this body of research contributes to future genetic perspectives in psychiatry.

The present paper is aimed at providing an outline of the process of reconceptualization of cognitive functions and emotions in neuropsychology, recently promoted by the acknowledgment of complex, nonlinear dynamics in brain structure and function.

In the field of personality, the application of neuroscientific techniques is faced with a clinical category that is still unsatisfactory. The adoption of a coevolutionist, perspective-associated, multidimensional construct is a suggested way to improve clinical models to match the sophisticated techniques of neuroscience.

The neuropsychological performance of 19 unmedicated patients with panic disorder (PD) was compared with 15 age- and education-matched control subjects. The test results indicate a selective pattern of neuropsychological dysfunctions in patients with PD, suggestive of an involvement of the right frontal and temporoparietal brain areas.