The Neuropathology of Schizophrenia. Progress and Interpretation

The Neuropathology of Schizophrenia. Progress and Interpretation . Edited by paul j harrison andgareth w roberts (Pp374, £65.00). Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000. ISBN 0-19-262907-7. The neuropathology of schizophrenia has been for a long time perhaps one of the most controversial fields of biomedical research. In the middle decades of the last century there was an increased interest in the neuropathology of psychosis based on the assumption that structural alterations in the brain would provide insight into the understanding of this complex and devastating disease. However, the results of these investigations have been contradictory and it has become a cliche to say that schizophrenia is the graveyard of neuropathologists. Indeed, the results of neuropathological investigations were confusing, and resulted from both clinical and pathological problems. The clinical definition of schizophrenia has been controversial and for a long time internationally accepted diagnostic criteria did not exist. Patients' cohorts …