Can a Virus Cause Schizophrenia?: Facts and Hypotheses

The quest to discover the etiology of schizophrenia has fascinated and frustrated researchers for more than a century. In recent years, there has been an accumulation of experimental and epidemiological evidence supporting the role of viral infections in schizophrenia pathogenesis. This growing body of evidence has amassed to the point where the mainstream scientific community can no longer ignore it. Drawing on his research experience in biological psychiatry and neurovirology, Dr. Pearce provides the first book dedicated entirely to a critical appraisal of the viral hypothesis of schizophrenia. This book is an enlightening and valuable resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, neurobiologists, and their students. By integrating the latest findings in virology and immunology with current concepts in the pathophysiology of the non-affective psychotic disorders, this well illustrated volume disentangles the various sub-theories of the viral hypothesis, and lays the groundwork for more focused explorations of the mechanisms by which viruses may cause serious mental illness.

Preface. 1. Introduction and History. 1.1. A brief history of the viral hypothesis. 2. Fundamentals of Viral Infections and Immune Responses in Humans. 2.1. A primer on general virology. 2.2. Immune response to viral infections. 2.3. Persistent viral infections. 3. Encephalitis and Schizophrenia. 3.1. Viruses and schizophrenia: a plurality of theories. 3.2. Psychosis in viral encephalitis. 3.3. The validity gap for the encephalitis connection. 3.4. Borna diseases virus. 3.5. Viruses in other psychiatric diseases. 4. Epidemiological Evidence. 4.1. Epidemiological studies of the viral hypothesis. 4.2. Seroepidemiological studies. 4.3. Immune alterations in schizophrenia. 5. The Role of Viral Infections During Neurodevelopment. 5.1. Brain development. 5.2. Immunology of the maternal-fetal unit. 5.3. Viro-developmental hypothesis. 5.4. Epidemiological studies of perinatal infections in adult schizophrenia. 6. Models and Mechanisms. 6.1. Specific models. 6.2. A history lesson from oncology concerning the viral hypothesis. 6.3. What a viral etiology of schizophrenia does not mean. 6.4. Conclusion. Index.