Kurt Schneider 373282 193891400 2008-02-25T09:11:48Z Olessi 220894 copyedit :''This article is about the German psychiatrist. For the World War I ace, see [[Kurt Schneider (aviator)]]. For the midget actor, also known as Harry Earles, see [[The Doll Family]].'' '''Kurt Schneider''' ([[7 January]] [[1887]] &ndash; [[27 October]] [[1967]]) was a [[Germany|German]] [[psychiatrist]] known largely for his writing on the [[diagnosis]] and understanding of [[schizophrenia]]. ==Biography== Schneider was born in [[Crailsheim]], [[Kingdom of Württemberg]], and trained in [[medicine]] in [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Berlin]] and [[University of Tübingen|Tübingen]]. He was drafted for military service in [[World War I]] and later obtained a postgraduate qualification in [[psychiatry]]. In 1931 he became director of the Psychiatric Research Institute in [[Munich]], which was previously founded by [[Emil Kraepelin]]. Disgusted by the developing tide of psychiatric [[eugenics]] championed by the [[Nazi Party]], Schneider left the institute and served as an army doctor during [[World War II]]. After the war, anti-Nazi academics were appointed to serve in, and rebuild Germany's medical institutions and Schneider was given the post of Dean of the Medical School at [[Heidelberg University]]. Schneider kept this post until his retirement in 1955. ==Contributions to Psychiatry== Schneider was concerned with improving the method of diagnosis in psychiatry. Like [[Karl Jaspers]], he particularly championed diagnoses based on the form, rather than the content of a sign or symptom. For example, he argued that a [[delusion]] should not be diagnosed by the content of the belief, but by the way in which a belief is held. ===First-rank symptoms=== He was also concerned with differentiating [[schizophrenia]] from other forms of [[psychotic|psychosis]], by listing the psychotic symptoms that are particularly characteristic of schizophrenia. These have become known as Schneiderian First-Rank Symptoms or simply, first-rank symptoms.<ref>Schneider, K. ''Clinical Psychopathology''. New York: Grune and Stratton. 1959.</ref> These were: * Audible thoughts * Voices heard arguing * Voices heard commenting on one's actions * Experience of influences playing on the body * [[Thought withdrawal]] * [[Thought insertion]] - Thoughts are ascribed to other people who intrude their thoughts upon the patient * [[Thought diffusion]] (also called thought broadcast) * Delusional perception The reliability of using first-rank symptoms for the diagnosis of schizophrenia has since been questioned,<ref>Bertelsen A. Schizophrenia and related disorders: experience with current diagnostic systems. Psychopathology. 2002 Mar-Jun;35(2-3):89-93. PMID 12145490.</ref> although the terms might still be used descriptively by mental health professionals who do not use them as diagnostic aids. A memory device that is frequently used to remember the first rank symptoms is '''''ABCD''': '''A'''uditory hallucinations, '''B'''roadcasting of thought, '''C'''ontrolled thought (delusions of control), '''D'''elusional perception.'' ==See also== * [[Karl Jaspers]] * [[schizophrenia]] ==References== <references/> {{BD|1887|1967|Schneider, Kurt}} [[Category:German psychiatrists]] [[Category:German military personnel of World War I]] [[Category:German military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Military physicians]] [[Category:People from the Kingdom of Württemberg]] [[Category:Humboldt University of Berlin alumni]] [[Category:University of Tübingen alumni]] [[Category:University of Heidelberg faculty]] [[de:Kurt Schneider]] [[es:Kurt Schneider]] [[fr:Kurt Schneider]] [[ja:クルト・シュナイダー]]