Schizophrenia Bulletin vol. 42 no. 5 p. 1080, 2016 doi:10.1093/schbul/sbw094 Advance Access publication July 13, 2016
EDITORIAL
The Journal for Psychoses and Related Disorders
William T. Carpenter* Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
*To whom correspondence should be addressed; Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, PO Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228, US; tel: 410-402-7101, fax: 410-788-3837, e-mail: [email protected]
Schizophrenia Bulletin has given increased attention to high quality reports that cross traditional diagnostic boundaries. As explained in the July 2016 editorial,1 the journal name will continue as Schizophrenia Bulletin, but a byline “The Journal of Psychoses and Related Disorders” will make this interest explicit. Our content will continue to advance knowledge and understanding of psychopathology in the context of current nosology, but also in relation to deconstruction of clinical syndromes. We have a special interest in reports of “meaningful” similarities and differences across diagnoses and between dimensions of psychopathology. We also hope to advance knowledge and understanding of investigative paradigms that integrate clinical and pre-clinical models that connect approaches at the experiential, phenotype, behavioral construct, neural circuit, biomarker, genetic and environmental level to psychopathology. We will continue to explore clinical relevance from all levels of inquiry and to advance the application of science in clinical intervention for persons with psychosis. The 2017 issues will emphasize this shift with special reviews and commentary in each issue. One point of emphasis will be the symptom domains central to diagnoses in the Psychosis Chapter of DSM-5. Hallucinations, delusions, thought disorganization, negative symptoms, and psychomotor pathology will be reviewed with a focus on similarities and differences across diagnoses and a dimensional perspective to consider advancing knowledge in categorical vs dimensional frameworks. Brief commentary will address research approaches to each psychopathology domain in the Research Domain
Criteria (RDoC) and other paradigms aimed at developing more fundamental knowledge. A second commentary will relate pre-clinical models to each psychopathology domain. The 5 symptom domains will be placed in the first 5 issues and the November 2017 issue will address developmental pathology across diagnoses. The case for shifting psychopathology targets from clinical syndrome to deconstruction paradigms is compelling and was first expressed in Schizophrenia Bulletin in 1974.2 The Bulletin recognizes that not all deconstructed targets are equally valid, and current diagnoses have important validity (eg, relevance of lithium therapeutics by diagnostic category). Aspects of psychotic pathology pose a special challenge for pre-clinical models designed for mechanism study or behavioral construct/ neural circuit paradigms in human research. Positive psychotic symptoms involving thought disorder, hallucinations, and delusions are challenges for animal models and behavioral constructs. The purpose of commentaries on each of the 5 psychotic symptoms will be to inform the reader on current approaches to address these challenges in paradigms such as RDoC and animal models. References 1. Carpenter WT. Shifting Paradigms and the Term Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2016;42:863–864. 2. Strauss JS, Carpenter WT Jr, Bartko JJ. The diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia. Part III. Speculations on the processes that underlie schizophrenic symptoms and signs. Schizophr Bull. 1974;11:61–69.
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected]
1080
EDITORIAL
The Journal for Psychoses and Related Disorders
William T. Carpenter* Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
*To whom correspondence should be addressed; Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, PO Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228, US; tel: 410-402-7101, fax: 410-788-3837, e-mail: [email protected]
Schizophrenia Bulletin has given increased attention to high quality reports that cross traditional diagnostic boundaries. As explained in the July 2016 editorial,1 the journal name will continue as Schizophrenia Bulletin, but a byline “The Journal of Psychoses and Related Disorders” will make this interest explicit. Our content will continue to advance knowledge and understanding of psychopathology in the context of current nosology, but also in relation to deconstruction of clinical syndromes. We have a special interest in reports of “meaningful” similarities and differences across diagnoses and between dimensions of psychopathology. We also hope to advance knowledge and understanding of investigative paradigms that integrate clinical and pre-clinical models that connect approaches at the experiential, phenotype, behavioral construct, neural circuit, biomarker, genetic and environmental level to psychopathology. We will continue to explore clinical relevance from all levels of inquiry and to advance the application of science in clinical intervention for persons with psychosis. The 2017 issues will emphasize this shift with special reviews and commentary in each issue. One point of emphasis will be the symptom domains central to diagnoses in the Psychosis Chapter of DSM-5. Hallucinations, delusions, thought disorganization, negative symptoms, and psychomotor pathology will be reviewed with a focus on similarities and differences across diagnoses and a dimensional perspective to consider advancing knowledge in categorical vs dimensional frameworks. Brief commentary will address research approaches to each psychopathology domain in the Research Domain
Criteria (RDoC) and other paradigms aimed at developing more fundamental knowledge. A second commentary will relate pre-clinical models to each psychopathology domain. The 5 symptom domains will be placed in the first 5 issues and the November 2017 issue will address developmental pathology across diagnoses. The case for shifting psychopathology targets from clinical syndrome to deconstruction paradigms is compelling and was first expressed in Schizophrenia Bulletin in 1974.2 The Bulletin recognizes that not all deconstructed targets are equally valid, and current diagnoses have important validity (eg, relevance of lithium therapeutics by diagnostic category). Aspects of psychotic pathology pose a special challenge for pre-clinical models designed for mechanism study or behavioral construct/ neural circuit paradigms in human research. Positive psychotic symptoms involving thought disorder, hallucinations, and delusions are challenges for animal models and behavioral constructs. The purpose of commentaries on each of the 5 psychotic symptoms will be to inform the reader on current approaches to address these challenges in paradigms such as RDoC and animal models. References 1. Carpenter WT. Shifting Paradigms and the Term Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2016;42:863–864. 2. Strauss JS, Carpenter WT Jr, Bartko JJ. The diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia. Part III. Speculations on the processes that underlie schizophrenic symptoms and signs. Schizophr Bull. 1974;11:61–69.
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected]
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