Exploring Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are seen as separate entities, but this view has been challenged by more recent genetic and neurobiologic findings, suggesting there may be a considerable overlap between the two. Researchers of this paper review the genetic, morphology, phenomenology, and illness progression clinical and experimental data that show the differences between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The researchers also note, however, that it may be time to explore for more refined clinical descriptions to discover clinical invariants that pair better with molecular findings. Future artificial intelligence and machine learning in computational psychiatry may aid in overcoming the gap in phenomenology and neurobiology.

Reference: Grunze H, Cetkovich-Bakmas M. “Apples and pears are similar, but still different things.” Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia- discrete disorders or just dimensions? J Affect Disord. 2021;290:178-187. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.064

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