![]() Although negative symptoms are diverse and difficult to differentiate, careful assessment, timely identification, and provision of adequate therapy are required. Negative symptoms can be primary symptoms, which are intrinsic to the underlying pathophysiology of schizophrenia, or secondary symptoms that are related to psychiatric or medical comorbidities, adverse effects of treatment, or environmental factors. Negative symptoms are a core component of the schizophrenia syndrome. It covers the historical and modern concepts of the paradigm of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, as well as a detailed comparison of the assessment tools and psychometric tests used for the evaluation of negative symptoms. This review and position paper focuses primarily on clinical aspects of negative symptoms in schizophrenia, their definition, phenomenology, factor structure, and classification. Different longitudinal trajectories of primary and secondary negative symptoms in different schizophrenia stages are proposed as an important additional discriminating factor. If secondary negative symptoms overlap with primary negative symptoms, it can create a false clinical impression of worsening deficit symptoms and disease progression, which leads to the choice of incorrect therapeutic strategy with excessive dopamine blocker loading. From the diagnostic point of view, it is important to differentiate between primary negative symptoms, which are regarded as an integral dimension of schizophrenia, and secondary negative symptoms occurring as a result of positive symptoms, comorbid depression, side effects of antipsychotics, substance abuse, or social isolation. Negative symptoms worsen patients' quality of life and functioning. The negative symptoms of schizophrenia include volitional (motivational) impairment manifesting as avolition, anhedonia, social withdrawal, and emotional disorders such as alogia and affective flattening. ![]()
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