Abstract
Diagnosis of schizophrenia has been tradition-ally linked to symptoms that can be described broadly as a disruption of the basic sense of self. These symptoms encompass, for example, symptoms of passivity as in the case of delu-sion of control, thought withdrawal, or auditory hallucinations, i.e. symptoms in which patients excessively over-attribute their own activity to some external forces.
In general, these symptoms are characterized by the disturbance of the demarcation between self and others. Recent ac-counts underline the fact that, similarly to other traits or mental illnesses, symptoms of schizophrenia are present on a continuum.
Thus, they can be found in the general population. Due to their genetic underpinnings, these traits are of-ten more pronounced in unaffected relatives of schizophrenia patients.
This review analyzes self-disturbances as a potential endophenotype of schizophrenia, which is expressed on a con-tinuum