Psychopathology 

About: Psychopathology is an academic journal published by Karger Publishers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Schizophrenia & Anxiety. It has an ISSN identifier of 0254-4962. Over the lifetime, 2217 publications have been published receiving 53843 citations. The journal is also known as: International journal of descriptive psychopathology, phenomenology and clinical diagnostics.

The Roots of Empathy: The Shared Manifold Hypothesis and the Neural Basis of Intersubjectivity

Abstract: Starting from a neurobiological standpoint, I will propose that our capacity to understand others as intentional agents, far from being exclusively dependent upon mentalistic/linguistic abilities, be deeply grounded in the relational nature of our interactions with the world. According to this hypothesis, an implicit, prereflexive form of understanding of other individuals is based on the strong sense of identity binding us to them. We share with our conspecifics a multiplicity of states that include actions, sensations and emotions. A new conceptual tool able to capture the richness of the experiences we share with others will be introduced: the shared manifold of intersubjectivity. I will posit that it is through this shared manifold that it is possible for us to recognize other human beings as similar to us. It is just because of this shared manifold that intersubjective communication and ascription of intentionality become possible. It will be argued that the same neural structures that are involved in processing and controlling executed actions, felt sensations and emotions are also active when the same actions, sensations and emotions are to be detected in others. It therefore appears that a whole range of different ‘mirror matching mechanisms’ may be present in our brain. This matching mechanism, constituted by mirror neurons originally discovered and described in the domain of action, could well be a basic organizational feature of our brain, enabling our rich and diversified intersubjective experiences. This perspective is in a position to offer a global approach to the understanding of the vulnerability to major psychoses such as schizophrenia.

On the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory. A review.

Abstract: The present review discusses validity aspects of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) on the basis of meta-analyses of studies on the psychometric properties. Shortcomings of the BDI are its high item difficulty, lack of representative norms, and thus doubtful objectivity of interpretation, controversial factorial validity, instability of scores over short time intervals (over the course of 1 day), and poor discriminant validity against anxiety. Advantages of the inventory are its high internal consistency, high content validity, validity in differentiating between depressed and nondepressed subjects, sensitivity to change, and international propagation. The present paper outlines agreements and contradictions between the various studies on the BDI and discusses the potential factors (composition of the subject sample, statistical procedures, point in time of measurement) accounting for the variance in their results.

EASE: Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience.

Abstract: for a detailed account of phenomena that have in common a somehow deformed sense of fi rst-person perspective – in brief, a disorder or defi ciency in the sense of being a subject, a self-coinciding center of action, thought, and experience 1 . The scale is mainly designed for conditions in the schizophrenia spectrum, but it cannot be used alone as a diagnostic instrument (self-disorders are not listed by the DSM-IV or ICD-10 as diagnostically crucial or even important features of schizophrenia; derealization and depersonalization are mentioned as nonessential features of schizotypy). The EASE does not cover all potential anomalies of experience, but focuses only on the disorders of the self [in contrast to the BSABS (‘Bonner Skala fur die Beurteilung von Basissymptomen’) [Gross et al., 1987], e.g. perceptual disorders are not explored].

The Association between Pathological Internet Use and Comorbid Psychopathology: A Systematic Review.

Abstract: Background: Pathological Internet use (PIU) has been conceptualized as an impulse-control disorder that shares characteristics with behavioral addiction. Research

The short version of the Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23): development and initial data on psychometric properties.

Abstract: Background: The full version of the Borderline Symptom List (BSL; for clarification now labeled BSL-95) is a self-rating instrument for specific assessment of borderline-typical sym