Current Directions in Schizophrenia Research

It has been nearly a century since the term “schizophrenia” was first used to describe what was then considered a hopeless and incurable disorder of thought and emotion. Schizophrenia is still baffling to both scientists and the general public, but it is no longer considered hopeless. Significant advances have been made on several fronts in fathoming and combating this debilitating mental illness—from genetics to neuroscience to the psychosocial aspects of the disorder.

The August issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, published by the Association for Psychological Science, is a state-of-the-art summary of the latest research on every facet of schizophrenia. Edited by Emory University psychological scientist and schizophrenia expert Elaine Walker, the issue includes overviews of prenatal factors; neurological development; prognosis and recovery; brain abnormalities; social cognition and functioning; and promising new avenues for treatment on these various fronts.

In this special issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science:

Neurodevelopment and Schizophrenia: Broadening the Focus

Elaine Walker, Dan Shapiro, Michelle Esterberg, and Hanan Trotman

Prenatal Factors in Schizophrenia

Suzanne King, Annie St-Hilaire, and David Heidkamp

Current Research on the Genetic Contributors to Schizophrenia

Michael F. Pogue-Geile, and Jessica L.Yokley

Schizophrenia Course, Long-Term Outcome, Recovery, and Prognosis

Thomas H. Jobe and Martin Harrow

Structural and Functional Brain Abnormalities in Schizophrenia

Katherine H. Karlsgodt, Daqiang Sun, and Tyrone D. Cannon

Ventral Hippocampus, Interneurons, and Schizophrenia: A New Understanding of the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Its Implications for Treatment and Prevention

Anthony A. Grace

Social Factors in Schizophrenia

Jill M. Hooley

Social Cognition in Schizophrenia

Michael F. Green and William P. Horan

Cognitive Functioning and Disability in Schizophrenia

Philip D. Harvey

Emotion in Schizophrenia: Where Feeling Meets Thinking

Ann M. Kring and Janelle M. Caponigro

Psychosocial Treatments for Schizophrenia

Jean Addington, Danijela Piskulic, and Catherine Marshall

New Opportunities in the Treatment of Cognitive Impairments Associated with Schizophrenia

Mark A. Geyer