J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2015 Nov;54(4):365-398. 10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.4.365.

History of Schizophrenia

• Park JS
• Kang UG

• KMID: 2149320
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.4.365

Abstract

Fundamental difficulties in psychiatric nosology lie in the most basic fact that it deals with subjective states of the human mind. Modern instrumental diagnostic classification systems, which amount to lists of symptom inventories, could not provide accurate concepts of psychiatric disorders. This is also true for schizophrenia, a representative mental disorder. Kraepelin's dementia praecox was a collection of controversially proposed diseases, which had some critical similarities in their clinical features, i.e., the course and outcome. Despite initial debates on the adequacy of this concept, dementia praecox was recognized as a disease entity quite early, so that the concept of dementia praecox or schizophrenia proliferated, became diversified, and was then altered. We can now find large discrepancies between Kraepelin's dementia praecox and today's schizophrenia. However, the myth of disease entity was seldom challenged and psychiatrists today implicitly believe that they are dealing with what Kraepelin had proposed. In order to navigate this impasse, we thought that historical studies on the concept of dementia praecox and underlying taxonomic principles established by 19th century alienists including Kraepelin would shed some light. The aim of this article is to comprehensively review the history of concepts of dementia praecox or schizophrenia, and to question critically how much today's schizophrenia has received the conceptual inheritance from original concepts. Through this process, we expect to attain a renewed understanding of schizophrenia.

Keyword

Schizophrenia; Dementia praecox; Deterioration; DSM; Nosology

MeSH Terms

Classification
Equipment and Supplies
Humans
Mental Disorders
Psychiatry
Schizophrenia*
Wills

Reference

1. Weber MM, Engstrom EJ. Kraepelin's 'diagnostic cards': the confluence of clinical research and preconceived categories. Hist Psychiatry. 1997; 8(31 Pt 3):375–385.

2. Kang U, Kim H. A historical consideration of psychiatric diagnostic systems: focusing on the concept of depression. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2014; 53:259–292.

3. Kraepelin E, Diefendorf AR. Clinical psychiatry: a textbook for students and physicians. London: Macmillan;1902.

4. Kraepelin E, Barclay RM. Dementia praecox and paraphrenia. Edinburgh: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company;1919.

5. Bleuler E. Dementia praecox; or, the group of schizophrenias. New York: International Universities Press;1950.

6. Morel BA. Traité des dégénérescences physiques, intellectuelles et morales de l'espéce humaine et des causes qui produisent ces variétés maladives: Atlas [A thesis on physical, intellectual and moral degeneration of human kind]. Paris: J.B. Baillière;1857.

7. Liégeois A. Hidden philosophy and theology in Morel's theory of degeneration and nosology. Hist Psychiatry. 1991; 2:419–427.

8. Dowbiggin I. Back to the future: Valentin Magnan, French psychiatry, and the classification of mental diseases, 1885-1925. Soc Hist Med. 1996; 9:383–408.

9. Engstrom EJ. 'On the question of degeneration' by Emil Kraepelin (1908). Hist Psychiatry. 2007; 18(71 Pt 3):389–404.

10. Beer MD. The endogenous psychoses: a conceptual history. Hist Psychiatry. 1996; 7:1–29.

11. Berrios GE. The history of mental symptoms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press;1996.

12. Morel BA. Traité des maladies mentales [A thesis on mental diseases]. 1860. Paris: Masson.

13. Hecker E, Kraam A. 'Hebephrenia. A contribution to clinical psychiatry' by Dr. Ewald Hecker in Gorlitz. 1871. Hist Psychiatry. 2009; 20(77 Pt 1):87–106.

14. Hecker E, Kraam A. 'Hebephrenia. A contribution to clinical psychiatry' by Dr. Ewald Hecker in Görlitz 1871. (part II). Hist Psychiatry. 2009; 20:233–248.

15. Liddle PF. The symptoms of chronic schizophrenia. A re-examination of the positive-negative dichotomy. Br J Psychiatry. 1987; 151:145–151.

16. Pichot P. [The history of German psychiatry from the viewpoint of French psychiatrists]. Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr. 1992; 60:317–328.

17. Kraam A, Phillips P. Hebephrenia: a conceptual history. Hist Psychiatry. 2012; 23:87–403.

18. Kahlbaum KL. Die Gruppierung der psychischen Krankheiten und die Einteilung der Seelenstörungen [The Grouping of Psychiatric Diseases and the Classification of Mental Disturbances]. Danzig: Kafemann;1863.

19. Jabs BE, Verdaguer MF, Pfuhlmann B, Bartsch AJ, Beckmann H. The concept of hebephrenia over the course of time with particular reference to the Wernicke-Kleist-Leonhard School. World J Biol Psychiatry. 2002; 3:200–206.

20. Hecker E. Die Hebephrenie: ein Beitrag zur klinischen Psychiatrie [Hebephrenia: a contribution to clinical psychiatry]. Arch Pathol Anat Klin Med. 1871; 52:394–429.

21. Kahlbaum K. On Heboidophrenia. Hist Psychiatry. 2002; 13:201–208.

22. Kahlbaum K, Berrios GE, Kraam A. On Heboidophrenia. Hist Psychiatry. 2002; 13:197–201.

23. Daraszkiewicz L. Über Hebephrenie, Insbesondere Deren Schwere Form: Inaugural-Dissertation [On hebephrenia, especially its severe form. Inaugural dissertation]. 1892. Dorpat: Dr. v. H. Laakmann.

24. Kendler KS, Gruenberg AM, Tsuang MT. A family study of the subtypes of schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 1988; 145:57–62.

25. Fenton WS, McGlashan TH. Natural history of schizophrenia subtypes. I. Longitudinal study of paranoid, hebephrenic, and undifferentiated schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1991; 48:969–977.

26. Leonhard K. Classification of endogenous psychoses and their differential etiology. 2nd ed. New York: Springer;1999.

27. Beratis S, Gabriel J, Hoidas S. Gender differences in the frequency of schizophrenic subtypes in unselected hospitalized patients. Schizophr Res. 1997; 23:239–244.

28. Inoue S. Hebephrenia as the most prevalent subtype of schizophrenia in Japan. Jpn J Psychiatry Neurol. 1993; 47:505–514.

29. Donald AG, Pressley LC, Pitts WM Jr. Changes in the clinical picture of schizophrenia. South Med J. 1976; 69:1406–1409.

30. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association;2000.

31. Brill NQ, Glass JF. Hebephrenic Schizophrenic Reactions. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1965; 12:545–551.

32. Kendler KS, Karkowski LM, Walsh D. The structure of psychosis: latent class analysis of probands from the Roscommon Family Study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998; 55:492–499.

33. Starkstein SE, Goldar JC, Hodgkiss A. Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum's concept of catatonia. Hist Psychiatry. 1995; 6(22 Pt 2):201–207.

34. Peralta V, Cuesta MJ, Serrano JF, Mata I. The Kahlbaum syndrome: a study of its clinical validity, nosological status, and relationship with schizophrenia and mood disorder. Compr Psychiatry. 1997; 38:61–67.

35. Kahlbaum KL. Catatonia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press;1973.

36. Neumärker KJ. Leonhard and the classification of psychomotor psychoses in childhood and adolescence. Psychopathology. 1990; 23:243–252.

37. Fink M, Shorter E, Taylor MA. Catatonia is not schizophrenia: Kraepelin's error and the need to recognize catatonia as an independent syndrome in medical nomenclature. Schizophr Bull. 2010; 36:314–320.

38. Maatz A, Hoff P. The birth of schizophrenia or a very modern Bleuler: a close reading of Eugen Bleuler's 'Die Prognose der Dementia praecox' and a re-consideration of his contribution to psychiatry. Hist Psychiatry. 2014; 25:431–440.

39. Carpenter WT Jr, Arango C, Buchanan RW, Kirkpatrick B. Deficit psychopathology and a paradigm shift in schizophrenia research. Biol Psychiatry. 1999; 46:352–360.

40. Ungvari GS, Caroff SN, Gerevich J. The catatonia conundrum: evidence of psychomotor phenomena as a symptom dimension in psychotic disorders. Schizophr Bull. 2010; 36:231–238.

41. Taylor MA, Abrams R. Catatonia. Prevalence and importance in the manic phase of manic-depressive illness. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1977; 34:1223–1225.

42. Gelenberg AJ. The catatonic syndrome. Lancet. 1976; 1:1339–1341.

43. Pauleikhoff B. [Catatonia (1868-1968)]. Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr Grenzgeb. 1969; 37:461–496.

44. World Health Organization. The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization;1993.

45. Peralta V, Cuesta MJ. Motor features in psychotic disorders. I. Factor structure and clinical correlates. Schizophr Res. 2001; 47:107–116.

46. Healy D. Psychiatric 'diseases' in history. Hist Psychiatry. 2014; 25:450–458.

47. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed. Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing;;2013.

48. Jaspers K. General Psychopathology. Manchester: Manchester University Press;1963.

49. Kleist K. Gehirnpathologie. Gehirnpathologie [Brain pathology]. Leipzig: Barth;1934.

50. Schneider K. Uber Wesen und Bedeutung katatonischer Symptome [On the existance and meaning of katatonic symptoms]. Zeitschrift fur die gesamte Neurol und Psychiatr. 1914; 22:486–505.

51. Pfuhlmann B, Stöber G. The different conceptions of catatonia: historical overview and critical discussion. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2001; 251:Suppl 1. I4–I7.

52. Krüger S, Bagby RM, Höffler J, Bräunig P. Factor analysis of the catatonia rating scale and catatonic symptom distribution across four diagnostic groups. Compr Psychiatry. 2003; 44:472–482.

53. Ungvari GS, Goggins W, Leung SK, Gerevich J. Schizophrenia with prominent catatonic features ('catatonic schizophrenia'). II. Factor analysis of the catatonic syndrome. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2007; 31:462–468.

54. Peralta V, Cuesta MJ. Negative parkinsonian, depressive and catatonic symptoms in schizophrenia: a conflict of paradigms revisited. Schizophr Res. 1999; 40:245–253.

55. Carroll BT, Kirkhart R, Ahuja N, Soovere I, Lauterbach EC, Dhossche D, et al. Katatonia: a new conceptual understanding of catatonia and a new rating scale. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2008; 5:42–50.

56. Lee JW, Schwartz DL, Hallmayer J. Catatonia in a psychiatric intensive care facility: incidence and response to benzodiazepines. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2000; 12:89–96.

57. Ungvari GS, Leung CM, Wong MK, Lau J. Benzodiazepines in the treatment of catatonic syndrome. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1994; 89:285–288.

58. Kleist K. Über zykloide, paranoide und epileptoide Psychosen und Über die Frage der Degenerationspsychosen [On cycloid, paranoid and epileptoid psychoses and on the question of degenerative psychoses]. Schweiz Arch Neurol Psychiatr. 1928; 23:3–37.

59. Kretschmer E. Die Willensapparate der Hysterischen [The apparatus of will in hysteria]. Z Neur. 1920; 54:251–280.

60. Stauder KH. Die tödliche Katatonie. Arch Psych Nervenkr. 1934; 102:614–634.

61. Fink M, Taylor MA. Catatonia: A Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press;2003.

62. Mann SC, Caroff SN, Bleier HR, Welz WK, Kling MA, Hayashida M. Lethal catatonia. Am J Psychiatry. 1986; 143:1374–1381.

63. Kraepelin E. Psychiatrie. Ein Lehrbuch fur Studirende und Arzte [Psychiatry: A Textbook for Students and Doctors]. 5th ed. Leipzig: Barth;1896.

64. Kraepelin E. Über Remissionen bei Katatonie [On the remission of katatonia]. Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie und psychisch-gerichtliche Medizin. 1896; 52:1126–1127.

65. Lohr JB, Wisniewski AA. Movement Disorders: A Neuropsychiatric Approach. New York: Guilford;1987.

66. Rosebush PI, Hildebrand AM, Furlong BG, Mazurek MF. Catatonic syndrome in a general psychiatric inpatient population: frequency, clinical presentation, and response to lorazepam. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990; 51:357–362.

67. Rogers D. Motor disorder. In : Rogers D, editor. Psychiatry Towards a Neurological Psychiatry. New York: John Wiley & Sons;1993.

68. Northoff G, Koch A, Wenke J, Eckert J, Böker H, Pflug B, et al. Catatonia as a psychomotor syndrome: a rating scale and extrapyramidal motor symptoms. Mov Disord. 1999; 14:404–416.

69. Bräunig P, Krüger S, Shugar G, Höffler J, Börner I. The catatonia rating scale I--development, reliability, and use. Compr Psychiatry. 2000; 41:147–158.

70. Rosebush PI, Mazurek MF. Catatonia: re-awakening to a forgotten disorder. Mov Disord. 1999; 14:395–397.

71. Rao NP, Kasal V, Mutalik NR, Behere RV, Venkatasubramanian G, Varambally S, et al. Has Kahlbaum syndrome disappeared or is it underdiagnosed? Reexamining the nosology of catatonia. J ECT. 2012; 28:62–63.

72. Stompe T, Ritter K, Schanda H. Catatonia as a subtype of schizophrenia. Psychiatr Ann. 2007; 37:31–36.

73. Noll R. The Encyclopedia of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders. New York: Facts on File;2007.

74. Dowbiggin I. Delusional diagnosis? The history of paranoia as a disease concept in the modern era. Hist Psychiatry. 2000; 11(41 Pt 1):37–69.

75. Kendler KS. Delusional disorder: clinical section. In : Berrios GE, Porter R, editors. A History of Clinical Psychiatry. The origin and history of psychiatric disorders. London: Athlone Press;1995. p. 360–371.

76. Kendler KS, Tsuang MT. Nosology of paranoid schizophrenia and other paranoid psychoses. Schizophr Bull. 1981; 7:594–610.

77. Mayer W. Über paraphrene psychosen [On paphrenic psychoses]. Z Ges Neurol Psychiatry. 1921; 71:187–206.

78. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association;1952.

79. Gillespie RD, Henderson DK. A Text-Book of Psychiatry for Students and Practitioners. 6th ed. London: Oxford University Press;1944.

80. Tsuang MT, Winokur G. Criteria for subtyping schizophrenia. Clinical differentiation of hebephrenic and paranoid schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1974; 31:43–47.

81. Tsuang MT, Fowler RC, Cadoret RJ, Monnelly E. Schizophrenia among first-degree relatives of paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics. Compr Psychiatry. 1974; 15:295–302.

82. Goldstein MJ, Held JM, Cromwell RL. Premorbid adjustment and paranoid-nonparanoid status in schizophrenia. Psychol Bull. 1968; 70:382–386.

83. Nasrallah HA, McCalley-Whitters M, Kuperman S. Neurological differences between paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenia: part I. sensory-motor lateralization. J Clin Psychiatry. 1982; 43:305–306.

84. Silverman J. Perceptual control of stimulus intensity in paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenia. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1964; 139:545–549.

85. Rappaport M, Silverman J, Hopkins HK, Hall K. Phenothiazine effects on auditory signal detection in paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics. Science. 1971; 174:723–725.

86. Strauss ME, Sirotkin RA, Grisell J. Length of hospitalization and rate of readmission of paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1974; 42:105–110.

87. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association;1968.

88. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association;1980.

89. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 3rd ed. Revised. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association;1987.

90. Noreik K. Follow-up and classification of functional psychoses with special reference to reactive psychoses. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget;1970.

91. Depue RA, Woodburn L. Disappearance of paranoid symptoms with chronicity. J Abnorm Psychol. 1975; 84:84–86.

92. Tsuang MT, Woolson RF, Winokur G, Crowe RR. Stability of psychiatric diagnosis. Schizophrenia and affective disorders followed up over a 30- to 40-year period. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981; 38:535–539.

93. Kendler KS. The nosologic validity of paranoia (simple delusional disorder). A review. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1980; 37:699–706.

94. Parnas J. A disappearing heritage: the clinical core of schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2011; 37:1121–1130.

95. Peralta V, Cuesta MJ. Eugen Bleuler and the schizophrenias: 100 years after. Schizophr Bull. 2011; 37:1118–1120.

96. Bumke O. The dissolution of dementia praecox. Hist Psychiatry. 1993; 4:129–139.

97. Schneider K. Klinische Psychopathologie. 14th ed. Stuttgart: Thieme;1992.

98. Paek MJ, Kang UG. Phenomenological Psychopathology. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2011; 50:97–115.

99. World Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic Criteria for Schizophrenic and Affective Psychoses. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press;1983.

100. Endicott J, Nee J, Fleiss J, Cohen J, Williams JB, Simon R. Diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia: reliabilities and agreement between systems. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982; 39:884–849.

101. Spitzer RL, Endicott J, Robins E. Research diagnostic criteria: rationale and reliability. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1978; 35:773–782.

102. Feighner JP, Robins E, Guze SB, Woodruff RA Jr, Winokur G, Munoz R. Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1972; 26:57–63.

103. Aragona M. Neopositivism and the DSM psychiatric classification. An epistemological history. Part 1: Theoretical comparison. Hist Psychiatry. 2013; 24:166–179.

104. Aragona M. Neopositivism and the DSM psychiatric classification. An epistemological history. Part 2: Historical pathways, epistemological developments and present-day needs. Hist Psychiatry. 2013; 24:415–426.

105. Rejón Altable C, Dening DT. Psychopathology beyond semiology. An essay on the inner workings of psychopathology. Hist Psychiatry. 2013; 24:46–61.

106. Amminger GP, Henry LP, Harrigan SM, Harris MG, Alvarez-Jimenez M, Herrman H, et al. Outcome in early-onset schizophrenia revisited: findings from the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre long-term follow-up study. Schizophr Res. 2011; 131:112–119.

107. Tsuang MT, Van Os J, Tandon R, Barch DM, Bustillo J, Gaebel W, et al. Attenuated psychosis syndrome in DSM-5. Schizophr Res. 2013; 150:31–35.

108. Faraone SV, Kremen WS, Lyons MJ, Pepple JR, Seidman LJ, Tsuang MT. Diagnostic accuracy and linkage analysis: how useful are schizophrenia spectrum phenotypes? Am J Psychiatry. 1995; 152:1286–1290.

109. Cornblatt BA, Malhotra AK. Impaired attention as an endophenotype for molecular genetic studies of schizophrenia. Am J Med Genet. 2001; 105:11–15.

110. Boyle M. Schizophrenia: a Scientific Delusion? 2nd ed. London: Routledge;2002.

111. von Economo K. Encephalitis lethargica. Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift. 1917; 30:581–585.

112. Reid AH, McCall S, Henry JM, Taubenberger JK. Experimenting on the past: the enigma of von Economo's encephalitis lethargica. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2001; 60:663–670.

113. Howard RS, Lees AJ. Encephalitis lethargica. A report of four recent cases. Brain. 1987; 110(Pt 1):19–33.

114. Dale RC, Church AJ, Surtees RA, Lees AJ, Adcock JE, Harding B, et al. Encephalitis lethargica syndrome: 20 new cases and evidence of basal ganglia autoimmunity. Brain. 2004; 127(Pt 1):21–33.

115. Maurizi CP. Influenza caused epidemic encephalitis (encephalitis lethargica): the circumstantial evidence and a challenge to the nonbelievers. Med Hypotheses. 2010; 74:798–801.

116. Steadman P. Herpes simplex mimicking functional psychosis. Biol Psychiatry. 1992; 32:211–212.

117. Schlitt M, Lakeman FD, Whitley RJ. Psychosis and herpes simplex encephalitis. South Med J. 1985; 78:1347–1350.

118. Prasad KM, Eack SM, Goradia D, Pancholi KM, Keshavan MS, Yolken RH, et al. Progressive gray matter loss and changes in cognitive functioning associated with exposure to herpes simplex virus 1 in schizophrenia: a longitudinal study. Am J Psychiatry. 2011; 168:822–830.

119. Watson AM, Prasad KM, Klei L, Wood JA, Yolken RH, Gur RC, et al. Persistent infection with neurotropic herpes viruses and cognitive impairment. Psychol Med. 2013; 43:1023–1031.

120. Thomas P, Bhatia T, Gauba D, Wood J, Long C, Prasad K, et al. Exposure to herpes simplex virus, type 1 and reduced cognitive function. J Psychiatr Res. 2013; 47:1680–1685.

121. Brown AS. Further evidence of infectious insults in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2011; 168:764–766.

122. Lazar-Molnar E, Tebo AE. Autoimmune NMDA receptor encephalitis. Clin Chim Acta. 2015; 438:90–97.

123. Steiner J, Walter M, Glanz W, Sarnyai Z, Bernstein HG, Vielhaber S, et al. Increased prevalence of diverse N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor antibodies in patients with an initial diagnosis of schizophrenia: specific relevance of IgG NR1a antibodies for distinction from N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor encephalitis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013; 70:271–278.

124. Tsutsui K, Kanbayashi T, Tanaka K, Boku S, Ito W, Tokunaga J, et al. Anti-NMDA-receptor antibody detected in encephalitis, schizophrenia, and narcolepsy with psychotic features. BMC Psychiatry. 2012; 12:37.

125. Pearce JM. Brain disease leading to mental illness: a concept initiated by the discovery of general paralysis of the insane. Eur Neurol. 2012; 67:272–278.

126. Kendell RE, Cooper JE, Gourlay AJ, Copeland JR, Sharpe L, Gurland BJ. Diagnostic criteria of American and British psychiatrists. Diagnostic criteria of American and British psychiatrists. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1971; 25:123–130.

127. Crow TJ. The two-syndrome concept: origins and current status. Schizophr Bull. 1985; 11:471–486.