Modular networks involving the medial frontal cortex: towards the development of neuropsychiatry

Diagnosis of infectious or inflammatory psychosyndromes

Before an outline of the process of diagnosis and differential diagnosis in infectious and/or inflammatory psy-chosyndromes is given, a more general overview onto the approach to organic psychosyndromes seems useful, because in both entities similar principles of causality conclusion are applied. Correlation does not demonstrate causality. Therefore the principles and consensus recommendations, and limitations of causal inference to categorize psychosyndromes as be-ing 'organic', is to be discussed in detail.

Integrative etiopathogenetic models of psychotic disorders: methods, evidence and concepts

Integrative models of the etiopathogesnesis of psychotic disorders are needed since a wealth of information from such diverse fields as neurobiology, psychology, and the social sciences is currently changing the concepts of mental disorders. Several approaches to integrate these streams of information into coherent concepts of psychosis are feasible and will need to be assessed in future experimental studies. Common to these concepts are the notion of psychotic disorders as brain disorders and a polythetic approach in that it is increasingly realized that a multitude of interindividually partially different pathogenetic factors interact in individual persons in a complex fashion resulting in the clinical symptoms of psychosis.