- The topics covered in the six sections of the book are Epidemiology and Environment, Precursors, Pathophysiological Mechanisms, Genetics, Controversies in Schizophrenia, and Treatment. - Reflects the progress made on Schizophrenia since 1986.

The present volume contains the lectures of the symposium on 'Risk and Protective Factors in Schizophrenia - towards a conceptual Model of the Disease Process', which was held at the International Science Forum of the University of Heidelberg on October, 2001. The topics of the program were 'Genetic risk factors and gene environment interaction', 'Psychotic and negative symptoms in the general population as risk-factors', 'Etiological risk factors in embryonal life, childhood and adolescence', 'Prepsychotic prodromi and stage models of the development of psychosis', 'Brain development, structural and functional morphology of the early course', 'Urban versus rural life, migration and social chains as causal risk factors?', 'Psychological and neurobiological (estrogen, erythropoietine) protective factors'. The book covers a wide scope of recent research and knowledge about schizophrenia. TOC:Introduction.- Genetic and Population-related Risk Factors.- Developmental Disorders of the Brain.- Environmental Risk Factors.- Indicators of Schizophrenia in Childhood and Adolescence.- Psychopathological Predictors of the Course of Schizophrenia.- Perspectives of Neuroprotective Interventions.- Psychoprotective factors.- Developments and Perspectives.

An international team of leading researchers and clinicians provides the first comprehensive, epidemiological overview of this multi-faceted and still-perplexing disorder. Controversial issues such as the validity of discrete or dimensional classifications of schizophrenia and the continuum between psychosis and 'normality' are explored in depth. Separate chapters are devoted to topics of particular relevance to schizophrenia such as suicide, violence and substance abuse. Finally, new prospects for treatment and prevention are considered.

"Schizophrenia remains the most challenging of mental disorders confronted by psychiatrists and other mental health providers. Its primary manifestations-psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment-profoundly affect the functioning of individuals with schizophrenia. This is an updated textbook covering the current state of knowledge about schizophrenia, including its causes, nature, presentation, and treatment. Chapters are written by a roster of experts in "--

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF GQ's TOP 50 BOOKS OF LITERARY JOURNALISM IN THE 21st CENTURY • The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease. "Reads like a medical detective journey and sheds light on a topic so many of us face: mental illness." —Oprah Winfrey Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins--aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony--and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family? What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations. With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope.

The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances. This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction. Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking. In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs. The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice. The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies.