Negative and Cognitive Symptoms in Schizophrenia (Comprehensive Approach to Psychiatry, 3)

The book discusses the definition of negative and cognitive symptoms and offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of their impact on patients' real-life functioning and quality of life. It covers the available assessment instruments, including those in early intervention settings, and explores possible treatments, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological.
Negative symptoms are common and pervasive in schizophrenia, significantly impacting an individual's life and serving as strong predictors of functional outcomes. However, they are often underrecognized and undertreated compared to positive symptoms. Addressing negative symptoms requires a multimodal approach. Enhancing our understanding and developing effective treatment strategies for negative symptoms are essential for improving the well-being of individuals with schizophrenia.
Cognitive dysfunctions represent a core feature of schizophrenia, present at any stage of the disease and in subjects at high risk for psychosis (UHR), and they also have a significant impact on patients' psychosocial functioning. While pharmacological treatment is modestly effective for the cognitive dimension, there is considerable evidence of the efficacy of cognitive remediation interventions on cognition and functioning.
In the volume, particular attention is given to the relationships, overlap, and independence of the two dimensions in schizophrenia. The authors explore how to disentangle the relative prevalence and role of such dimensions in patients' everyday lives and discuss the differential effectiveness of treatment options.
This book is the first effort to explore the complex relationships between negative and cognitive symptoms in a dedicated format, featuring contributions from many of the best-recognized experts in the field. It fills a gap in the existing literature and will, therefore, be a key resource for clinicians and researchers in the field.

Antonio Vita is a Full Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Brescia and serves as the Head of the University Psychiatric Unit. Since 2016, he has been the Head of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services at the Spedali Civili Hospital in Brescia. In 2021, he assumed the position of Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Brescia and, in 2024, that of Vice Rector at the same university. His main research activities focus on clinical, biological, pharmacological, and rehabilitative aspects of mental disorders, with particular emphasis on neuromorphological and neurofunctional correlates of psychotic disorders and on rehabilitation and cognitive remediation in schizophrenia. Prof. Vita is actively engaged in several international research networks and has authored over 300 publications published in major international scientific journals. He has held the positions of President of the Italian Society of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and is currently the President of the Italian Group for the Study and Treatment of Cognition in Psychiatry. Additionally, he serves as the President of the Section on Neuroimaging of the World Psychiatric Association and Co-Chair of the Section on Schizophrenia of the European Psychiatric Association. He is included in the Editorial Boards of various international journals and serves as the Deputy Editor of Psychiatry Research and Editor in Chief of the Section on Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation of Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Silvana Galderisi is a Full Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. She holds the Chair of the Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine of the same university, and she is also the Head of the Emergency Unit in the Department of Mental Health. Additionally, she serves as the Delegate of the School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" for the Schools of Specialization in the Health Area. Her main areas of research include clinical, biological, and social aspects influencing schizophrenia outcomes. Her research combines a wide range of aspects, such as genetics, neurocognition, social cognition, neuroimaging, psychopathology, and clinical psychology. Some specific research areas she focuses on are the clinical and neurobiological characterization of the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia, the pathophysiology of schizophrenia's negative symptom domains, neurocognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders, and neurocognitive rehabilitation programs for patients with psychoses. She has authored or coauthored over 400 papers in books and scientific journals.