title: Psychotic symptoms in the general population - an evolutionary perspective.
abstract: Our ideas about the intrinsically pathological nature of hallucinations and delusions are being challenged by findings from epidemiology, neuroimaging and clinical research. Population-based studies using both self-report and interview surveys show that the prevalence of psychotic symptoms is far greater than had been previously considered, prompting us to re-evaluate these psychotic symptoms and their meaning in an evolutionary context. This non-clinical phenotype may hold the key to understanding the persistence of psychosis in the population. From a neuroscientific point of view, detailed investigation of the non-clinical psychosis phenotype should provide novel leads for research into the aetiology, nosology and treatment of psychosis.
authors.forename: Kelleher
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ian
authors.forename: Jack A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jenner
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cannon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002648:Child; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000235:genetics*