Nonlinear Methods for the Investigation of Psychotic Disorders

The basic aspects of nonlinear dynamics theory’s utility and impact on understanding psychotic disorders are reviewed and discussed in this chapter. A different view of nonlinear approaches as a metaphor, analogy, and mathematical/physical concept is presented, with an emphasis on how the latter can be applied to empirical knowledge of psychotic disorders. The typical behavior of patients with psychotic disorders and general chaotic systems is discussed, as well as the dynamical analysis of time series extracted from such systems. The original question is rephrased in chaos theory terminology: “Are psychotic disorders described as dynamical processes?” There are some implications to viewing psychotic disorders as dynamic processes which enable the chaos theory approach to give deeper insights.