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Schizophrenia is characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and emotional responsiveness. Symp-toms commonly include auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, disorganized thinking and speech, and social and occupational dysfunction. For many patients, first-generation (eg, haloperidol) and second-generation agents (eg, risperidone) are of equal efficacy for treating positive symptoms. Second generation agents are often more effective for treating negative symptoms and cogni-tive dysfunction and have lower risk of tardive dyskinesia and hyperprolactinemia. Other indications for the use of selected antipsychotics include bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, Tourette syndrome, disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in the case of older drugs (eg, chlorpromazine), treatment of emesis, and pruritus.