Crow T J, Harrington C A
Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Annu Rev Med. 1994;45:219-34. doi: 10.1146/annurev.med.45.1.219.
Psychotic illnesses (schizophrenia and schizoaffective and affective psychosis) have a lifetime prevalence of 2-3% and probably occur at a similar rate in all human societies. No etiologically significant environmental precipitants have been identified, and this suggests that these diseases are primarily genetic. Brain studies reveal that in schizophrenic patients, development of cerebral asymmetry is arrested, which may be associated with a small reduction in cortical mass. Episodes of illness can be ameliorated by dopamine (in particular D2) antagonists, drugs that are antipsychotic rather than merely antischizophrenic. The discovery of at least five dopamine receptor subtypes and their genes paves the way for new approaches to treatment. However, whether psychotic patients undergo a primary disturbance of dopaminergic transmission remains unclear.
精神病性疾病（精神分裂症、分裂情感性精神病和情感性精神病）的终生患病率为2%至3%，在所有人类社会中的发病率可能相似。尚未发现具有病因学意义的环境诱发因素，这表明这些疾病主要是遗传性的。脑部研究表明，精神分裂症患者大脑不对称性的发育停滞，这可能与皮质质量略有减少有关。疾病发作可用多巴胺（特别是D2）拮抗剂改善，这些药物是抗精神病药物，而不仅仅是抗精神分裂症药物。至少五种多巴胺受体亚型及其基因的发现为新的治疗方法铺平了道路。然而，精神病患者是否经历多巴胺能传递的原发性障碍仍不清楚。
