On the question of schizophrenic reactions

The term “schizophrenic reactions” was introduced by E. Popper (1920) to refer to stress-provoked acute transient polymorphic psychoses, completely separating them from the concept of schizophrenia as a disease. But soon E. Kahn (1921) proclaimed schizophrenic reactions as a variant of the “phenotypic realization of the schizoid Self system”. Later, “schizophrenic complexes” were found by different authors in the structure of exogenous and psychogenic reactions and were interpreted as the expression of “latent schizophrenia”. The merging of heterogeneous clinical categories into a single semantic construct created a conflict between the nosological and symptomatological aspects of the concept of schizophrenia (Strömgren E., 1992). Numerous but ineffective attempts were made to eliminate from the pictures of acute psychotic attacks signs that predict either the typical course of schizophrenia, or outcomes in recovery. The diagnosis of schizophrenic reactions does not provide a reliable prognosis, often causes incorrect treatment tactics, and contributes to the stigmatization of fully cured patients. It is necessary to reach a consensus of specialists on the problem of diagnosis and treatment of acute mono-attack and intermittent psychoses, the clinical picture of which does not fit into neither framework of schizophrenia nor bipolar disorder.