Ideology and Scientific Progress: First-Rank Symptoms

This is a psychopathology story of some importance. Kurt Schneider described symptoms associated with schizophrenia and referred to a small group as first rank based on a unique relationship to schizophrenia.1 Kendler2 reviews the history of concept development leading to Schneider ’s influential formulation. This psychopathology was influential in English-speaking psychiatry made accessible in Fish’s little blue book3 and Mellor ’s description of 11 first-rank symptoms (FRS).4 FRS were central to Wing ’s concept of nuclear schizophrenia and the algorithm used in Catego5 and Langfeldt ’s distinction of true from pseudo-schizophrenia.6 A solution to the “American problem” was in view.
Source: Schizophrenia Bulletin - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research