Mediating Processes in Schizophrenia

Abstract

To paraphrase Kant, theory without data is mere intellectual play, but data without theory are blind. “Mediating Processes in Schizophrenia” is a topic demanding theory as well as data. Although the topic may seem limited in scope, it actually probes the causes of schizophrenia. The causes involved in ‘mediating processes’, however, are not the usually considered primary or distal causes of schizophrenia, such as genetics or early environment. Instead they are the more proximal causes – mechanisms that are closer to illness onset, exacerbation, or improvement. It is amazing how little attention is paid to this kind of cause.