Abstract

Do the Causal Paths to Psychosis Converge on D2High?

Despite the many causes of psychosis, most individuals experiencing a psychotic episode improve with antipsychotic drugs. How is it that patients respond to a similar type of drug treatment whether their illness is associated with a major deletion in chromosome 22, or is a result of birth trauma, or a consequence of the family’s genetic predisposition for psychosis, or an end product of the use of street drugs? Why would so many different pathophysiological routes be blocked when blocking dopamine receptors?

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