The British Journal of Psychiatry (2001) 178: 485
© 2001 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Psychopharmacology of Schizophrenia
Gillian A. Doody, Clinical Senior Lecturer in General Adult Psychiatry
University of Nottingham, Division of Psychiatry, Duncan MacMillan House,
Porchester Road, Nottingham NG6 3AA
EDITED BY SIDNEY CROWN and ALAN LEE
Edited by Michael A. Reveley & J. F. William Deakin. London: Arnold.
1999. 269 pp. £45.00 (hb). ISBN 0 340 759127
This multi-authored text provides a concise, yet comprehensive, overview of
many of the advances made in the biological research of schizophrenia over
recent years. It contains chapters that, at first glance, may not appear to be
relevant to a psychopharmacologist, for example, the neuropsychology of
schizophrenia, structural and functional brain imaging, and the molecular
genetics of schizophrenia. However, the patience of the diligent, systematic
reader is rewarded by insights gained into the potential for antipsychotics to
modify cognition, the correlates of neuroimaging and treatment responses,
inherent methodological shortcomings in functional imaging techniques, and an
awareness of the capacity of D2 receptor antagonists to modulate
the activity of mRNA. 
Most of the authors are clinicians. This is reflected in the style of
presentation, which tends to focus on practical treatment options, rather than
impenetrable lists of letters and numbers representing drugs at various stages
of development. The editors have successfully coordinated thinking between
contributors throughout the volume. Accordingly, there is relatively little
contradictory material, and differences in transatlantic practice are
appropriately flagged.
This book will appeal to a range of postgraduate readers. At one level, it
provides explanations of terms for those seeking to expand their knowledge of
biological psychosis research. Phencyclidine and ketamine models of psychoses,
genetic imprinting, anticipation and positional cloning, the BOLD effect,
T2* and signal: noise ratio are all lucidly explained. On another
level, several chapters tackle gritty issues of interest to contemporary
schizophrenia researchers, such as an accessible explanation of the
complexities of radiotracer kinetics in positron emission tomography (PET) and
single photon emission tomography (SPET) studies, and another explores the
enigmatic relationship between 5-HT2 receptors and antipsychotic
efficacy.
The high price of this hardback book will deter non-academics and trainees
from purchasing it. However, it should be allocated space in the psychiatry
library, where it is likely to be in demand over the next few years.
