Neurochemical substrates and neuroanatomical generators of the event-related P300

The present review focuses on the current knowledge of the neurochemical processes and neuronal structures involved in the generation of P300. The increasing knowledge in this area facilitates the physiological interpretation of P300 findings as well as the link between P300 research and other research findings in biological psychiatry. Concerning the question of neurochemical substrates, the glutamatergic, GABAergic, cholinergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic and serotonergic influences on P300 are reviewed. The knowledge of the generating structures of P300 is summarized from intracranial studies, magnetoencephalographic investigations, lesion and animal studies

On the descriptive validity of ICD-10 schizophrenia: Empirical analyses in the spectrum of non-affective functional psychoses

In order to examine the descriptive validity of ICD-10 schizophrenia, 1,476 consecutively admitted in-patients were included in the present study. ICD-10 schizophrenia (n = 951) was compared with other non-affective psychotic disorders {[}persistent delusional disorders (n = 51), acute and transient psychotic disorders (n = 116) and schizoaffective disorders (n = 354)] with respect to socio-demographic, symptomatological and other clinical parameters. Analyses revealed that it is possible to distinguish schizophrenia from other non-affective psychotic disorders according to ICD-10 criteria: schizophrenic patients were characterised by more pronounced negative symptoms and a lower global functioning. They were younger than patients with persistent delusional disorders and schizoaffective disorders but older than patients with acute and transient psychotic disorders. The results are in line with a high descriptive validity of ICD-10 schizophrenia and highlight the importance of negative symptoms for this diagnosis. Copyright (C) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Classification of functional psychoses and its implication for prognosis: Comparison between ICD-10 and DSM-IV

Background: The aim was to examine the agreement and differences between ICD-10 and DSM-IV in the classification of functional psychoses. Sampling and Methods: In a sample of 218 first-hospitalised patients, ICD-10 diagnoses were compared with DSM-IV diagnoses. Functional psychoses of both diagnostic systems were classified into the four diagnostic groups schizophrenia, transient/episodic psychoses, delusional disorders and affective disorders. Based on information from a 15-year follow-up, it was examined which course is associated with each diagnostic group. Results: Although in ICD-10 there was a higher frequency of schizophrenia and a lower one of affective disorders, a high agreement between ICD-10 and DSM-IV (kappa value of 0.82) was found. In both diagnostic systems, transient/episodic psychoses and affective disorders were mainly associated with a non-chronic course and schizophrenia was mainly associated with a chronic one. Nevertheless, several patients with transient/episodic psychoses showed a chronic course (ICD-10: 10%, DSM-IV: 15%) and more than one third of patients with schizophrenia a non-chronic one (ICD-10: 40%, DSM-IV: 33%). Conclusions: In the cross-sectional assessment, there is a high diagnostic agreement between ICD-10 and DSM-IV. With respect to the long-term course, the delimitation of transient/episodic psychoses from schizophrenia was neither completely achieved by ICD-10 nor by DSM-IV. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Neurowissenschaft und Psychopathologie heute – Ergänzung, Fusion, Verdrängung?

Der Spannungsbogen zwischen biologischen, psychologischen und sozialwissenschaftlichen Ansätzen prägt die Psychiatrie seit ihren Anfängen. Der enorme Wissenszuwachs in den Neurowissenschaften verschafft dem Thema eine besondere Aktualität und Bedeutung, wobei die psychopathologische Perspektive in den letzten Jahrzehnten deutlich an Gewicht verloren hat. Der Beitrag leuchtet auf psychiatrie historischem Hintergrund die wichtigsten Positionen dieser Debatte aus. Mit Blick auf die zukünftige Rolle der Psychopathologie plädiert er dafür, den unergiebigen und sachlich nicht begründeten Konfrontationen das ernsthafte, auf Argumenten beruhende Gespräch zwischen den verschiedenen Ansätzen entgegenzusetzen und dies als genuinen Bestandteil einer weiter gefassten Psychopathologie zu verstehen. Dies bedingt freilich auf allen Seiten die Bereitschaft, von vorschnellen Gesamterklärungen abzusehen und neben empirischen Daten auch Subjektivität und personale Autonomie als wissenschaftliche Gegenstände anzuerkennen

A german version of the staff attitude to coercion scale

$\textbf {Background:}$ Individual staff factors, such as personality traits and attitudes, are increasingly seen as an important factor in the reduction of coercion in mental health services. At the same time, only a few validated instruments exist to measure those factors and examine their influence on the use of coercion. $\textbf {Aim:}$ The present study aimed to develop and validate a German version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale (SACS). $\textbf {Methods:}$ The original English version of the SACS published was translated into German. Subsequently, it was empirically validated on a sample of $\textit {N = 209}$ mental health professionals by conducting an exploratory factor analysis. $\textbf {Results:}$ The three-factor structure in the original version of the SACS, consisting of critical, pragmatic and positive attitudes toward the use of coercion, could not be replicated. Instead, the German version revealed one factor ranging from rejecting to approving the use of coercion. $\textbf {Conclusion:}$ The SACS is one of the first instruments created to assess staff attitudes toward coercion in a validated way. The version of the instrument developed in this study allows for a validated assessment of those attitudes in German. Our results highlight the ethical importance of using validated measurements in studies on the role of staff factors in the reduction of coercion