title: Revisiting the Basic Symptom Concept: Toward Translating Risk Symptoms for Psychosis into Neurobiological Targets.
abstract: In its initial formulation, the concept of basic symptoms (BSs) integrated findings on the early symptomatic course of schizophrenia and first in vivo evidence of accompanying brain aberrations. It argued that the subtle subclinical disturbances in mental processes described as BSs were the most direct self-experienced expression of the underlying neurobiological aberrations of the disease. Other characteristic symptoms of psychosis (e.g., delusions and hallucinations) were conceptualized as secondary phenomena, resulting from dysfunctional beliefs and suboptimal coping styles with emerging BSs and/or concomitant stressors. While BSs can occur in many mental disorders, in particular affective disorders, a subset of perceptive and cognitive BSs appear to be specific to psychosis and are currently employed in two alternative risk criteria. However, despite their clinical recognition in the early detection of psychosis, neurobiological research on the aetiopathology of psychosis with neuroimaging methods has only just begun to consider the neural correlate of BSs. This perspective paper reviews the emerging evidence of an association between BSs and aberrant brain activation, connectivity patterns, and metabolism, and outlines promising routes for the use of BSs in aetiopathological research on psychosis.
authors: University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors: Frauke
authors: F
authors: Schultze-Lutter
authors: Developmental Clinical Psychology Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Debbané
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry , Zurich , Switzerland.
authors: Anastasia
authors: A
authors: Theodoridou
authors: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham , Birmingham , UK.
authors: Stephen J
authors: SJ
authors: Wood
authors: Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Raballo
authors: University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors: Chantal
authors: C
authors: Michel
authors: University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors: Stefanie J
authors: SJ
authors: Schmidt
authors: University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors: Jochen
authors: J
authors: Kindler
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne , Cologne , Germany.
authors: Stephan
authors: S
authors: Ruhrmann
authors: Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK.
authors: Peter J
authors: PJ
authors: Uhlhaas
keywords: aetiopathology; basic symptoms; clinical high risk; neurobiology; psychosis