Symptoms and Circuits, Part 3: Schizophrenia

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This feature is the third in a 3-part series discussing the paradigm shift that is occurring in conceptualizing the biological basis of psychiatric disorders, namely the notion of "symptoms and circuits." Psychiatric syndromes are deconstructed into their various symptoms, and then each symptom is matched to hypothetically malfunctioning neuronal circuits that can potentially not only explain the genesis of these symptoms but also provide a target for therapeutic agents to relieve these symptoms.^1,2 We have already discussed this idea in relationship to major depressive disorder³ and anxiety disorders.⁴