Aura phenomena and psychopathology: a pilot investigation.

We investigated a possible relation between aura phenomena and psychopathology in patients with seizure disorders. Twenty-one patients with a variety of seizure types (90% with generalized seizures, 72% with complex partial seizures, CPS) were studied. Aura phenomena were evaluated with the Silberman-Post Psychosensory Phenomena Scale; psychopathology was assessed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Version (SADS-L), the Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory (MMPI), and the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI). Psychosensory symptoms occurring in the absence of frank seizures, but not those occurring with seizures, were related to increased psychopathology (primarily mood and anxiety related) and greater time in psychiatric treatment. Psychosensory symptoms may reflect ongoing neurophysiologic dysfunction related to epilepsy and may therefore be a useful subject for further study.

A multidimensional approach to the genetics of schizophrenia.

To determine which dimensions of psychopathology are associated with a greater liability to develop schizophrenia, the authors examined the case histories of 151 monozygotic probands from five twin studies. Proband twins from pairs concordant for schizophrenia had greater numbers of negative symptoms, poorer premorbid adjustment, fewer paranoid symptoms, and earlier ages at onset than probands from discordant pairs. In discriminant analyses, negative symptoms, premorbid social competence, and paranoid symptoms each contributed to the discrimination between concordant and discordant pairs. These results provide support for Strauss et al.'s suggestion that these three types of symptoms reflect three different functional processes in the development of schizophrenia.