Neuropsychobiology
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In this study, we investigated serum protein levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) in patients with bipolar disorder. ⋯ These findings suggest that serum TrkB protein levels may play an important role in the psychopathology of bipolar mania. However, a larger sample size is needed to confirm these results.
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Recent neurobiological studies have reported that alexithymia may result from altered brain function related to emotional processing. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) has been shown to regulate central nervous system development associated with psychological processing. We investigated the possibility that polymorphism of the 5-HT transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with alexithymia. ⋯ These results suggest a link between low synaptic 5-HT and alexithymia.
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Biography Historical Article
Eugen Bleuler's concept of schizophrenia and its relevance to present-day psychiatry.
This paper links the historical perspective with the actual debate on the concept of schizophrenia. By this, two aims shall be accomplished. ⋯ Bleuler considerably reduced the epistemological presuppositions of Kraepelin's nosological model and coined the term 'group of schizophrenias', which was markedly broader and, as for prognosis, much less pessimistic. The second aim of this paper is to argue in favor of a continuous reflection upon psychiatry's historical and epistemological basis which is regarded not just as 'l'art pour l'art', but as an indispensable component of psychiatry, clinically and scientifically.