Abstract
Neuroscience and schizophrenia are densely entangled and mutually supporting, such that a critical evaluation of schizophrenia is, effectively, an evaluation of applied aspects of contemporary neuroscience. A critical historical account of the development of schizophrenia is therefore followed by an overview of current issues and debates. A summary of possible future research directions then identifies a range of extant research strategies which already undercut or exceed this diagnosis. It is concluded that the example of schizophrenia functions more generally to illustrate how neuroscience need not rely upon poorly supported psychiatric concepts of mental illness.
Highlights
There are multiple, reciprocal and mobile relations between neuroscience, persons and their brains, and psychiatric diagnoses such as schizophrenia
With respect to its neural and biological aspects this diversity can be illustrated by considering a recent issue of the leading journal ‘Schizophrenia Bulletin’, which in November 2013 published papers relating schizophrenia to endophenotypes identified by P50/P300 ERP events; variability in the ZNF804A gene; disruption of corollary discharge function for motor movements; temporal lobe volume abnormalities; aberrant salience and dopamine activity; low birth weight; connectivity between the default mode network and task-processing networks after ingesting psilocybin; and activation differences amongst people given the diagnosis of schizophrenia in the posterior cingulate, precuneus and other regions in selfother differentiation tasks
Despite the foundational status accorded to Kraepelin and Bleuler’s work, schizophrenia might not have been initially established as a coherent disease construct
Summary
There are multiple, reciprocal and mobile relations between neuroscience, persons and their brains, and psychiatric diagnoses such as schizophrenia. Unlike some high-profile work associated with the so-called anti-psychiatry movement, contemporary critiques rarely try to normalise the experiences associated with this diagnosis ( they may note that voice-hearing, for example, is quite prevalent in the general population - Beavan, Read, & Cartwright, 2011) Nor do they position schizophrenia as something heroic (cf Deleuze & Guattari, 1984), albeit that they do recognise that voice-hearing and related experiences can have positive aspects (Romme, Escher, Dillon, Corstens, & Morris, 2009). Researchers, whether accepting of the schizophrenia concept or critical of it, are mostly united in the goal of clarifying the causes, character and consequences of the experiences associated with a diagnosis, and so developing more effective remedial and preventative measures It follows that the aim of critique is certainly not to negate the relevance of neuroscience: rather, to clarify and develop its contribution in order to maximise its potential benefits. With this aim in mind, I will consider some implications for and connections to neuroscience of three aspects of schizophrenia: it’s initial development, it’s current status, and it’s likely future development
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