Argumentative Essay

Genetics can cause differences in brain chemistry and biochemistry may be important in the development and maintenance of schizophrenia. The dopamine

Schizophrenia is a chronic, complex disorder that causes neurotransmitters to disrupt functional circuits within the brain (7). “Approximately 1% of the population worldwide will develop schizophrenia during their lifetime” (6).

Schizophrenia is a mental illness in which an individual is characterized with abnormal social behavior and failure to differentiate between what is real and what is not. Individuals with schizophrenia can develop additional mental problems such as anxiety disorders, major depressive illness or substance abuse disorders. There are many factors that contribute to the risk of developing schizophrenia, in where a combination of both genetic and environmental factors play a big role in its development. Many genes are believed to be part of the development of schizophrenia each of minor effect and unknown spread and manifested, since it’s not just one cell who’s at fault but a conjunction of many that are. Environmental factors that contribute

Biological theorists believe that individuals may have a genetic predisposition for the schizophrenia if a close family member has been diagnosed with the disorder. Stress during adolescent years seems to provoke the disorder among individuals who have a family history of the disorder. In addition, this theory suggests biochemical abnormalities related to the dopamine neurotransmitters may also contribute to the illness as the brains neurotransmission of the dopamine is too frequent in occurrence (Comer, 2005). CAT and MRI scans have also indicated that abnormal brain structuring may also play a role in the development of schizophrenia due to a common occurrence of enlarged ventricles within schizophrenia sufferers (Comer, 2005). Various parts of the brain may not develop for function properly which seems lead to Type II schizophrenia. Studies have also pointed towards the idea that exposure to certain viruses before birth may lead to the eventual development of schizophrenia (Comer, 2005).

The direct genetic loci accounting for schizophrenia’s heritability is still unidentified. The mental illness affects approximately 3.5million Americans and 1 percent of the worldwide population today. The variable related to the disease is so widely ranged that literally anyone can have some form of potential risk. Compared to other mental disorders, schizophrenia is unique to having a combination of many different environmental, genetic, and biological factors. The exact cause of the disease is still unknown, but studies such as biometric and molecular screenings have proved genetic and biological factors, combined with environmental factors, is strongly connected to the etiology of the disease. Although schizophrenia is more commonly manifested during young adulthood, scientists believes, a variety of pre-birth factors are linked to the development of the disease. There are several prenatal factors that have a higher relative risk to the progression of schizophrenia as recorded by scientists. Although not proven, studies suggests time of birth, place of birth, infections during pregnancy, stress, malnourishment, and rh incompatibility are increased risk factors that shed light on possible causations of schizophrenia. Many studies are indefinite due to the latency, methodology, and of the disease, more research need to be established.

Over the years, experiments have produced evidence to suggest that dopamine plays a role in the development of Schizophrenia (Howes, McCutcheon, & Stone, 2015). Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is produced in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental regions of the brain. The belief that dopamine was involved in Schizophrenia arose after multiple studies performed with compounds produced an increase in extracellular concentrations of dopamine (Lieberman, Kane, & Alvir, 1987). The patients that were administered these compounds had similar symptoms to those observed from patients who were diagnosed with Schizophrenia (Lieberman et al., 1987).

The intent of this paper is to take an in depth look at the mental disorder known as schizophrenia. This disorder is relatively new and has only been recognized by psychologists since the late 1880’s. Since its discovery there have been many researchers who have attempted to define what causes the disorder, however there is still no concrete evidence of its origin. It has been widely accepted that schizophrenia has roots in genetics, however there is also a growing amount of evidence to suggest environmental factors as well. Research on epigenetics has shown that subtle mutations of DNA can be associated with the onset of schizophrenia. It also has been presented that specific single nucleotide polymorphs can be directly

Other studies, attempt to highlight that not only the biological approach can express deficits causes by schizophrenia. In fact, it can create cognitive deficits (Cohen et al., 1992).

An important topic we discussed in class is schizophrenia. The typical age of onset in schizophrenia is during the individual’s mid-20s, but symptoms can start appearing during their late teens until their early 30s (Vernon, 2015). Additionally, only 1% of the population are diagnosed with schizophrenia, regardless of their gender or demographic background, which is a unique aspect compared to other diagnoses. Numerous studies, conducted under a variety of biological etiologies, serve as evidence for schizophrenia. Theses studies include: family studies, twin studies, adoption studies, linkage studies, pregnancy studies, and viral infections studies (Vernon, 2015), but the most dominant is that of identical twins as they have a high concordance rate of 48% (Cromer 479). This means that identical twins (monozygotic twins) have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia compared to fraternal twins (dizygotic twins). Additionally, neurochemistry studies examined that people with schizophrenia have more dopamine receptors, especially D-2 receptors, causing them to have “problems [with] attention, perception, and thought” (Cromer 481). This is known as the dopamine hypothesis which is important because researchers initially thought that it was too much dopamine that led to schizophrenia, but numerous studies verified that this idea was false and rather, that it was an overactive dopamine system that produced more dopaminergic activity. Specifically, through drug testing,

Around the globe, about seven to eight thousand people develop schizophrenia at some point in their life. The incidence of schizophrenia and severe mental illness, in general, has increased from the late 1700s until about 1950 and then started to decrease in some areas of the world (Bagney et al., 2015). Schizophrenia occurs in all ethnic groups but is less severe in third world countries. It is also less common in those who grew up in rural areas or small towns. Schizophrenia develops from a variety of influences, but ideal candidates are at risk through genetics or the prenatal habitat, which are aggravated by difficulties later in life. The problem with stating it as a genetic cause is regarding why natural selection has not eliminated the gene responsible for schizophrenia. The neurodevelopmental theory states that schizophrenia has originated with nervous system damage that develops before a person is born or in initial childhood years which is caused by either genetics or early environment. Brain abnormalities appear in patients, who have schizophrenia, as having smaller than normal neurons and lesser than average synapses, especially in the

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is categorized as an s sever and debilitating illness, it is known to affect at least 1% of the world’s population. (Hirvonen, J., & Hietala, J. 2011). Schizophrenia is seen to be a disease with functional abnormalities of different brain structures, for example like the striatum, hippocampus, and pre frontal cortex. ( Hirvonen, J., & Hietala, J. 2011). Dopamine is always involved with schizophrenia and it’s known that schizophrenia isn’t caused by genetics, but it is seen as mixture of common and different environmental and interaction risk factors. (Hirvonen, J., & Hietala, J. 2011). When a person is diagnose with schizophrenia it’s a mental illness they will have it for life but, with the correct

Schizophrenia can be passed down thru generations even though there is not a specific gene associated with the disorder. It is considered to be a combination of genes that make a person susceptible to becoming schizophrenic. This information is found mainly thought the study of twins. By having the same genes it can be viewed why genes contribute to the potential of schizophrenia. Even though genetics is a viable factor in the analysis of the cause of schizophrenia there are more supporting factors found in neurotransmitters.

Carl Jung suggested that the presence of toxin x a mystery chemical that he though would eventually be identified. The demonstrated role of genetic factors in schizophrenia also suggested that biochemical’s should be investigated for it is the body chemistry and physiological processes that heredity may have an effect. (G, Davison, J, M,

The part of the brain that is mostly impacted is the prefrontal cortex, which helps with thinking and planning. The team focused on a location in the human genome called the MHC. They found that the MHC has four variants of C4, which produced two different proteins, C4-A and C4-B. After analyzing 64,000 people they concluded that schizophrenics were more likely to have overactive forms of C4-A than non-schizophrenic people. This finding made them believe the C4-A was the gene which may cause schizophrenia. This idea was then tested by Dr. Stevens, an assistant professor of neurology. Mice were used in the experiment to see if the nonexistence of the gene which produces C4 would impact the synaptic pruning. The experiment showed that the mice bred without the C4 producing gene showed a problematic synaptic pruning process. This further supported McCarroll and Steven’s theory that too much C4-A causes an excessive amount of pruning during development of the brain. This all explains why schizophrenics have a thinner prefrontal

It is often assumed that failure is a deterrent to achievement. Rather, failure should be seen as a motivator for a person to keep trying until the objective or aim of a particular mission is fulfilled.