The fascinating "Psychopathology in the Genome and Neuroscience Era" brings together selected topics in psychiatric genetics, epidemiology and prevention, and neuroscience and education. This key reference integrates this information across the fields of genetics, epidemiology, and neuroscience to arrive at an understanding of where recent advances in genetics and neuroscience& mdash;advances that promise to enhance our understanding of human behavior and psychopathology& mdash;are likely to influence psychopathology research and education in the near future.

How will the field of psychopathology incorporate the coming avalanche of information generated by these recent advances& #63; The answer will influence not only how mental health professionals diagnose and treat patients but also how the next generation of professionals is trained.

Chapters in this exciting compilation are based on individual talks by 20 international experts at the conceptual forefront of their respective fields given at the March 2003 American Psychopathological Association annual meeting. Organized into four main sections& mdash;the future of psychiatric genetics, diagnosis and prevention of psychiatric disorders, neurobiology and psychiatric disorders, and the future of psychiatric education& mdash; "Psychopathology in the Genome and Neuroscience Era" focuses on a broad range of topics: The importance of a conceptual shift from identifying major genes for mental disorders to gaining an understanding of the role of which genes in which contexts, both biological and environmental, confer susceptibility to or protection from mental disorders or components thereof Historical perspective of genesusceptibility to mental disorders, with the same possibilities for use and misuse of genotype data as now exist for significantly heritable traits such as intelligence, and for borderline traits such as criminal behavior and alcoholism Reconceptualization of medicine and medical diagnoses to include molecular genetic components, including the importance of cell loss and neurogenesis in mood disorders Major phenotypic problems inherent in all attempts to measure psychopathology, starting with how to achieve reliability, and how to advance from reliability to validity in future revisions of DSM and ICD classifications Brain structural abnormalities in mood disorders; physiological cell death and whether or not this natural phenomenon can be converted into a pathological process, including the importance of cell loss and neurogenesis in mood disorders The influence of scientific advances, workforce issues, and educational trends on psychiatric training

"Psychopathology in the Genome and Neuroscience Era" is a must-read reference work for anyone& mdash;practitioners, residents, and students alike& mdash;interested in the future of psychiatric genetics, epidemiology, and education.

There is a need to refine our current psychiatric nosology to produce diagnostic criteria and disorder categories that keep pace with advances in neuroscience while at the same time enhance clinical utility. Furthermore, dimensional aspects of psychiatric disorders require greater recognition so as to improve our understanding of boundaries between disorders and underscore the heterogeneous nature of psychopathology. The Conceptual Evolution of DSM-5 provides a framework for the evolution of the forthcoming diagnostic system in the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which will help advance clinical practice and facilitate ongoing development of diagnostic criteria. This manual: • Highlights recent progress in our understanding of cross-cutting factors relevant to psychiatric diagnosis and symptom presentation • Includes detailed discussions on the role of factors such as age, gender, culture, and disability in the expression of mental disorders • Provides a review of genetic evidence supporting a cross-cutting approach to nosology • Offers suggestions for integrating cross-cutting factors with DSM-5. The Conceptual Evolution of DSM-5 was written to impart a theoretical context for understanding potential revisions to DSM-5. The authors reevaluate the structure of the current manual and discuss cross-cutting approaches to facilitate clinical practice and refine research approaches that will guide clinical trials, genetics, imaging, and treatment guidelines. The authors provide the following insights: • Detailed descriptions of age-, gender-, and culture-specific aspects relevant to psychiatric diagnosis and the need for sensitivity to these factors when making diagnoses • Discussions on the dimensional aspects of mental disorders, including overlapping symptoms relevant to many or most diagnoses • Consideration of alternative classifications of disorders that recognize disorders sharing validating features • Presentation of neuroscientific and epidemiologic evidence to expand understanding of disorders beyond that of the categorical organization presented in DSM-IV • A review of clinical implications, including how clinicians may shift their conceptualization of previously reified diagnostic criteria and their consequences. As presented to the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Psychopathological Association, The Conceptual Evolution of DSM-5 explores the rapidly changing research base for the understanding of neurodevelopmental, neurocognitive, addictive, and other psychiatric disorders. The contributions in this volume confirm that DSM-5 is intended to be a living document that can accommodate revisions to specific diagnostic areas based on new evidence that is replicable and subject to review. This efficient updating process will help researchers and clinicians keep abreast of the latest protocols for the research, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness.

Starting in embryonic development, gender has profound influences on us. Endocrine receptors in the brain affect cognition, mood, and behavior differently in males and females, and gender roles inevitably affect our psychosocial experiences. It should be no surprise that men and women have differences in vulnerability for developing many forms of psychopathology, in expression of symptoms and in response to treatment.

Gender and Its Effect on Psychopathology examines the gender differences in psychopathology, including susceptibility to psychiatric disorders, the timing of their onset, their course, and their response to treatment. Dr. Ellen Frank and colleagues show how studying these differences helps clinicians in predicting patients' responses to treatment. This book reviews - The types of depression to which women are prone, the hormonal basis of mood disorders in women, and the specific clinical phenomenology of reproduction-related depressions- Findings on how gender difference in socialization affect the development and symptoms of psychiatric disorders- Studies hormonal and pubertal changes that may explain the rise in rates for depression among females relative to males between ages 10 and 15 years- Epidemiological findings on the prevalence of depression among women and discusses plausible explanations for these findings- Gender differences in antisocial and borderline personality disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and substance dependence

A synopsis of current research on gender differences, Gender and Its Effects on Psychopathology provides practitioners with invaluable insight into understanding and treating patients with a variety of psychiatric disorders.

Since the 1940s, the American Psychopathological Association has been a driving force in psychiatric genetic research. Having studied the Kallmann and Kety Hoch Award papers, many researchers have attempted to advance psychiatric genetic knowledge from epidemiological findings to biological findings.

"Genetic Approaches to Mental Disorders" provides the latest information on the relationship between genetics and mental disorders. Divided into four sections, this book presents analysis of the genetic data, linkage mapping and association, debate over genetic Kraepelinian dichotomy, and mapping and association results in psychiatry.

Personality and Psychopathology compiles the conclusions of more than 30 internationally recognized experts who each carefully examine the link between personality traits and psychopathology. Recent findings have clarified the importance of personality in the development and expression of psychopathology.

In light of such discoveries, this reference examines the relationship of personality traits with psychopathology from several interlocking perspectives -- descriptive, developmental, etiological, and therapeutic. It successfully tackles - A description of the frequency and patterns of overlap between personality and psychopathology- The structure and stability of normal personality traits across the life span and their relation to psychopathology- An analysis of personality disorders from three different approaches- The causes of individual differences in personality and psychopathology from genetic, psychosocial, and neurobiological perspectives- The role of personality in the treatment of psychopathology

Complete with illustrative charts, this all-inclusive resource provides invaluable information on the link between personality and psychopathology.

Age at onset studies have been an important approach to understanding disease across all medical specialties. Over the last few decades, genetic research has led to the identification of unique genes and, in some cases, physiologically different disorders. These advances bring us closer to identifying genetic vulnerability and implementing prevention programs for psychopathology.

Childhood Onset of "Adult" Psychopathology: Clinical and Research Advances provides an understanding of the childhood onsets of adult psychiatric disorders, including when and in what sequence psychiatric disorders begin in childhood, and how these disorders evolve over the life span. This book examines - Studies on the growing volume of data on very early forms of depression, criminality, alcoholism, schizophrenia, and anxiety- Genetics, evolution, and the significance of age at onset in terms of individual variability and the course of disease- The biological manner in which early-onset disorders progress- New insights into the disease etiology of schizophrenia and the neurodevelopmental hypothesis- The long-debated subject of whether depressive disorder in preadolescent children is the same as depressive disorder in adults and studies of individuals at risk for disorders of anxiety and depression- The implications for prevention of adult psychiatric disorders, alcoholism, and antisocial personality disorder

Complete with extensive references and tables, this text provides practitioners with a better understanding of adult psychopathology and insight into early detection and prevention methods.

Compiled from presentations given at the 2004 American Psychopathological Association (APPA) annual meeting, "Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidity Over the Course of Life" reviews the comorbidity of mental and chronic physical syndromes in an epidemiological and life course context, offering fresh insights and identifying crucial clues& mdash;gleaned from the overlapping areas or areas of mutual pathogenesis linking disparate realms of knowledge& mdash;to the etiology and nosological distinctiveness of both physical and mental disorders.

Once relatively ignored, the study of lifetime comorbidity has the potential to suggest etiological clues and to advance our ability to prevent secondary disorders by increasing our knowledge about the course and pathology of the primary disease.

The etiologically relevant period, beginning with the earliest causal action and ending with diagnosis, helps us understand this potential and thus is vital to the study of comorbidity. Divided into five main sections (epidemiology, risk factors, mood disorders, emotions and health, and schizophrenia), "Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidity Over the Course of Life" discusses critical aspects of the life course characteristics of the etiologically relevant period: "It can be long," e.g., temperament, a relatively enduring emotional predisposition, may situate an individual more or less permanently at high risk, culminating in irreversibility only after decades of induction. The action of identical genes produces different disorders that may occur at different stages of life, such as the comorbidity of panic disorder and cystitis. "It may involve critical stages," i.e., relatively narrow periods duringdevelopment, such as fetal growth and puberty, to which the action of a given cause is limited. Critical periods of varying durations may exist throughout the course of life. "It may have a cumulative quality to it," in which years or even decades of accumulation are required to reach the point of irreversibility, e.g., the years-long burden of lower class life, or of increased allostatic burden, for the causal nexus to reach sufficiency. "It may involve multiple causes," representing different disciplines and different spheres of action spread throughout the life course.

"Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidity Over the Course of Life" will prove invaluable for practitioners in general and consultation-liaison psychiatry, family practice and internal medicine, and psychosomatics, behavioral medicine, and health psychology.

Recognizing that favorable clinical outcomes are associated with earlier initiation of treatment -- and even more ideally with prevention -- this volume addresses the current status of early intervention in, and prevention of, major mental and substance use disorders. A team of distinguished participants addresses this problem at many levels -- from the DNA molecule to public policy -- in order to show how prevention efforts should be informed by a better understanding of etiology and by a knowledge of indicators of vulnerability.

In considering the current standing of etiological knowledge, Recognition and Prevention of Major Mental and Substance Use Disorders addresses issues that are critical precursors to the prevention of mental disorders and offers an understanding of factors that contribute to the disorders' development. The contributors review genetic methodologies and current findings in mental disorders, with an emphasis on schizophrenia, and then show how biological and psychosocial environmental variables may affect vulnerability. Chapters devoted specifically to lessons in prevention drawn from recent research into schizophrenia discuss the implications of prodromal studies and relationships between stress, critical periods, and the development of the disorder. The book includes contributions from NIH representatives on how basic scientific understanding of mental disorders can be translated into public policy. It also features chapters that describe cutting-edge projects in prevention research for Alzheimer's disease, drug dependence, antisocial behavior, and posttraumatic stress disorder -- each providing compelling accounts of how existing knowledge can be adapted to promising prevention efforts. Among the volume's contributions: - New data on the role of substance abuse -- particularly marijuana and psychostimulants -- in increasing vulnerability to schizophrenia- Review of vulnerability factors for several relevant disorders, examining stress and its concomitant psychobiological responses and the contribution of cognitive factors to vulnerability to depression- Intriguing approach for translating successful treatment methods for schizophrenia into efforts to prevent the transition from the prodrome of the disorder to the full-blown illness- Program for prevention of antisocial behavior that can be implemented as early as the first grade- Secondary prevention efforts for posttraumatic stress disorder, with a focus on pharmacological interventions

Each chapter reviews clinical implications of the research presented, contributing to a volume that will benefit clinicians and researchers who share the goal of preventing these debilitating conditions. This multidimensional, interdisciplinary work represents a major step toward cutting the social costs of these disorders -- and, more important, their untold cost in human suffering.