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Published on: November 21, 2013
Pervasive developmental disorders and psychosis
Jean Starling1, David Dossetor
1Department of Psychological Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, New South Wales 2145, Australia. jeans@chw.edu.au
Current Psychiatry Reports
|May 28, 2009
Summary
Distinguishing pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) from infantile schizophrenia remains challenging due to shared symptoms like perceptual abnormalities. Further research is crucial for accurate diagnosis and understanding brain pathways in these complex neurodevelopmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) and infantile schizophrenia were once considered a single entity.
- Distinguishing between PDDs and psychosis remains a diagnostic challenge due to overlapping symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the challenges and controversies in identifying psychosis in individuals with PDDs.
- To highlight shared features between PDDs and psychosis, such as perceptual abnormalities and thought disorder.
- To emphasize the need for further research into the longitudinal course and adult disorder associations of PDDs.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research on PDDs and psychosis.
- Analysis of shared clinical features and diagnostic challenges.
- Survey of prevalence data, noting limitations in PDD populations.
Main Results:
- PDDs and psychosis share features like perceptual abnormalities, thought disorder, catatonia, and reality testing deficits.
- Progress has been made in identifying PDD features mimicking psychosis.
- Data on psychotic symptoms in PDD populations are less extensive than in intellectual disability populations.
Conclusions:
- Accurate diagnosis of psychosis in PDDs requires careful consideration of overlapping symptoms.
- Further longitudinal research is essential to understand the relationship between PDDs and adult-onset psychosis and mood disorders.
- Investigating these complex disorders can illuminate brain pathways involved in reality perception.
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