ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION This chapter reviews the current evidence on aetiology and the nature of the brain changes in the psychoses, incorporating the spectrum of affective and schizophrenic illness. We include also schizotypal personality disorder and autism, as well as dyslexia and attention deficithyperactivity disorder. Emphasis is placed on the dimension of symmetry-asymmetry and its correlate in language as possible defining features of the human brain. We note that in both post-mortem and imaging studies, sex differences are prominent in relation to major psychiatric syndromes.
