ABSTRACT
As a common source of chronic disability, negative symptoms serve to
remind clinicians of the imperfections of psychiatric therapeutics.
Negative symptoms are conceptualized as those occurring as a result of a
loss of function (Andreasen et al, 1990), including affective flattening,
poverty of speech (alogia), diminished drive and loss of pleasure (anhe-
donia). These symptoms are present to varying degrees in patients with
schizophrenia. When present to a significant degree, these symptoms
often result in social dislocation and isolation, and greatly reduced activ-
ities of daily living.
