Negative symptoms

Q: What does "negative symptoms" means in psychosis stands for?

Answer: Negative symptoms refer to decreased emotional expression, lack of normal behavior, and lack of motivation. Clinically they signify hard to treat psychosis. Also, it points toward the likelihood of schizophrenia. It usually consists of five constructs: 

• blunted affect
• alogia (reduction in quantity of words spoken)
• avolition (reduced goal-directed activity due to decreased motivation)
• asociality (lacking social interaction)
• anhedonia (reduced experience of pleasure) 

#psychiatry

References:

1. Correll CU, Schooler NR. Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Review and Clinical Guide for Recognition, Assessment, and Treatment. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2020 Feb 21;16:519-534. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S225643. PMID: 32110026; PMCID: PMC7041437.

2. Fusar-Poli P, Papanastasiou E, Stahl D, et al. Treatments of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: Meta-Analysis of 168 Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials. Schizophr Bull 2015; 41:892.

3. Németh G, Laszlovszky I, Czobor P, et al. Cariprazine versus risperidone monotherapy for treatment of predominant negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial. Lancet 2017; 389:1103.