[Biological psychiatry (neuropsychiatry)--status and perspectives for for the 1990s]

In recent years, research into biological aspects of psychiatric disorders has had high priority. Biological psychiatry, or neuropsychiatry, is characterised by (a) empiricist epistemology, (b) a diathesis-stress disease model, (c) neurobiological pathogenetic theories, (d) chemical or physical treatment as an essential though not necessarily sufficient measure, and (e) a patient-oriented ethical approach. A short review of some major topics is given, including standardised assessment, clinical and molecular genetics, neurotransmitter theories, neuro-imaging techniques, panic disorder, classic and novel psychopharmacological compounds, and alcohol and drug dependence. Avenues of future research endeavours are delineated, and it is concluded that in the future neuropsychiatry should play a major part in psychiatry, though closely integrated with psychological and social theory.