Psychosis in Autism

Abstract

Psychosis has carried different meanings since its introduction more than 150 years ago (Beer, 1996). Others have described the social and intellectual contexts that have shaped the concept of psychosis at different times and places (Berrios,1987; Beer, 1995). Modern classification systems incorporate psychosis in various disorders as a serious disturbance in ‘‘reality testing’’ expressed as hallucinations, delusions, thought disturbance, disorganized behavior, or catatonia. Recent advances in neuroscience hold the promise of elucidating the brain mechanisms of psychosis and finding improved antipsychotic treatments. Fujii & Ahmed (2004) have recently proposed conceptualizing psychosis as a neurobiological syndrome with its own pathophysiology and treatment algorithm regardless of etiological factors and underlying diagnoses.