OUTLINING THE ABSENCE: FROM INFLAMMATION TO A DISTINCT ENDOPHENOTYPE FOR THE NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

The concept of schizophrenia as a mental condition is subject to deconstruction for a broader approach toward a systemic disorder by encompassing the links with inflammation. Beyond the salient psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia, the negative symptoms remain the silent cause of deterioration and the hallmark of a worse prognosis. Either as part of a unitary disorder or as a distinct subtype of schizophrenia, the negative symptoms seem to be associated with specific biological features. They might suggest a more transparent phenotype of the underlying pathological process. Therefore, recent lines of research indicate that peripheral immune alterations may be predictive early-phase biomarkers for targeting a specific subgroup of schizophrenia patients at risk of later developing enduring negative symptoms. In this paper, we review 1. The most influential theories of inflammation in schizophrenia, in conjunction with 2. The hitherto data linking immune alterations to negative symptoms. Thus, we propose a theoretical framework to delineate a model of inflammatory endophenotype for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.