Schizophrenia remains an important challenge to psychiatry, with its causes and underlying brain mechanisms yet to be fully revealed. Currently available treatments are neither universally effective nor without unwanted effects. These aspects, together with the high prevalence of schizophrenia, its often debilitating nature, and the associated family and social burden, make this mental disorder one of the most complex public health issues of our times.The purpose of the Advances in Schizophrenia Research series is to provide comprehensive periodic reviews of the wide range of research studies carried out around the world, with the dual purpose of solving the schizophrenia puzzle, and providing clues to new forms of treatment and prevention for this disorder. A special feature of the series is its broad scope, virtually encompassing all fields of schizophrenia research: epidemiology and risk factors; psychopathology; diagnostic boundaries; cognition; outcome and prognosis; pathophysiology; genetics; pharmacological and psychological forms of treatment and rehabilitation; community care; and stigmatization.

Based on the Sixth Symposium on the Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia which started in 1986 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the University of Heidelberg and is now one of the most respected forums for schizophrenia research

Epidemiology And Risk Factors.- Incidence and Outcome of Schizophrenia Across the Globe.- Gene¿Environment Interactions for Searchers: Collaboration between Epidemiology and Molecular Genetics.- The Natural History of the Course and Outcome of Schizophrenia.- Impact of Contextual Environmental Mechanisms on the Incidence of Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses.- Pathophysiology.- Disinhibition of Prefrontal Cortex Neurons in Schizophrenia.- Brain Anatomical Abnormalities in Schizophrenia: Neurodevelopmental Origins and Patterns of Progression over Time.- The Neuropathology of Schizophrenia: Central Role for the Hippocampus?.- Molecular Neuroimaging, Pathophysiological Mechanisms, and Drug Discovery.- Genetics.- Animal Models of Schizophrenia: Focus on Hippocampal Disruption of Dopamine System Regulation.- Genetic and Proteomic Studies in Schizophrenia.- Neurogenetic Risk Mechanisms of Schizophrenia: An Imaging Genetics Approach.- Progress in Genetic Studies of Schizophrenia.- Psychopathology, Cognition, Outcome.- Prediction of Psychosis Through the Prodromal Syndrome.- Schizophrenia as a Cognitive Disorder: Recent Approaches to Identifying its Core Cognitive Components to Aid Treatment Development.- Cognitive and Social Processes in Psychosis: Recent Developments.- The Impact of Early Intervention in Schizophrenia.- The Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Architecture of Schizophrenia: Significance for Diagnosis and Intervention?.- Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders: Boundaries and Similarities.- Continua or Classes? Vexed Questions on the Latent Structure of Schizophrenia.- Integrating the Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia from the Street to the Striatum: Integrating the Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia.- Cannabis: A Clue or a Distraction in the Search for `Causes¿ of Psychosis?.- The `Totality¿ of Psychosis: Epidemiology and Developmental Pathobiology.- Treatment.- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of First - and Second-Generation Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Schizophrenia: Facts and Fiction.- Long-Acting Antipsychotic Medication and the Outcome of Schizophrenia.- Modern Community Care Strategies for Schizophrenia Care: Impacts on Outcome.- Does Stigma Impair Treatment Response and Rehabilitation in Schizophrenia? The ¿Contribution¿ of Mental Health Professionals.- Treatment of Schizophrenia: Discussion.