A salience dysregulation syndrome

Abstract

Revisions of DSM and ICD are forthcoming. Should the old categories of psychotic disorder, in particular the construct of schizophrenia, be retained or is a new system of representation of psychosis in order? It is argued that both scientific and societal developments point to a system of classification combining categorical and dimensional representations of psychosis in DSM and ICD. Furthermore, it is proposed to introduce, analogous to the functional descriptive term 'metabolic syndrome', the diagnosis of salience dysregulation syndrome. Within this syndrome, three sub-categories may be identified, based on scientific evidence of relatively valid and specific contrasts: with affective expression; with developmental expression; and not otherwise specified.