General Psychiatric Syndrome: A New Perspective on the Theory of Unitary Psychosis

This article revisits the classical concept of Einheitspsychose—or unitary psychosis—originally proposed by 19th-century European psychiatry, and reformulates it into a modern nosological and pathophysiological framework named the General Psychiatric Syndrome. The traditional dichotomy between schizophrenia and affective disorders is questioned through historical, clinical, and biological evidence suggesting a shared neurodevelopmental and genetic basis for a wide range of psychiatric syndromes. Drawing from more than four decades of hospital-based psychiatric experience, the author proposes that conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorders, impulse-control disorders, and even certain neuroses are manifestations of a single underlying pathophysiological process. The article incorporates genetic studies, clinical heuristics, and updated conceptual models—including a dimensional understanding of psychosis as proposed by Tim Crow (1990)—to support a unified syndromic perspective that transcends categorical diagnostic limitations