Biopsychology Class: The Causes Of Schizophrenia

A Comparison of Biological and Psychological Explanations of Schizophrenia Both the biological and the psychological explanations of schizophrenia are supported by empirical evidence which justify their explanations. However ,within the biological explanation there is the genetic explanation which is used largely based on scientific research such as that of Gottesman’s research using meta-analysis which looked at the family (including twin) relationships and concordance rates of schizophrenia. The studies used Gottesman’s research was scientifically based and because of the large number of studies and therefore the sample used, the biological research can be credited for being representative.

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder revolves the way a person would think, act and the way they would see the world. They usually have a different view of the truth and this is frequently loss of contact with what going on. People that have the disorder could hear or see things that don’t exist and even speak strange, believe that others are trying to harm them, or sense they’re being watched. The biological explanation for schizophrenia, through biological faults, for instance viral infections and brain abnormalities Genetic Factors Certain psychologists predict schizophrenia can be passed down generations however this implies some people inherit the disorder from their parents. Identical twins have a higher risk of schizophrenia, meaning one of the twins can have the disorder and is a greater chance is they’re identical rather than non-identical. During my research I found that ‘Gottesman’ (1991) reviewed 40 studies and established ‘monozygotic twins have a concordance rate of 48%’, whereas dizygotic twins have a concordance rate of 17%. This demonstrates the correlation between genetics and the risk of developing schizophrenia. However if there was no genetic element there would be no difference of risk from first relatives. Yet there is 1% possibility of someone at random picked. Adopted studies is way more real way of splitting out the effects of environmental and genetic factors- adopted children later progress schizophrenia and care

Outline and evaluate one or more biological explanations of schizophrenia (8 marks AO1/16 marks AO1)

Schizophrenia is a neurological disorder that affects the cognitive functions of an individual. The cause of this illness is unknown, but there are several theories of how an individual may acquire schizophrenia. Because there are many symptoms of the disease and because the symptoms can vary quite dramatically among several individuals and even within the same individual over time, the diagnosis of schizophrenia can be quite difficult.

There are two main biological theories which explain the assumed causes of schizophrenia: Genetic and Dopamine Hypothesis.

The term ‘schizophrenia' covers a group of serious psychotic disorders characterised by a loss of contact with reality. It comes from two Greek words: schiz meaning ‘split' and phren meaning ‘mind'. DSM IV (1994) estimate that the occurrence rate of schizophrenia ranges from 0.2%-2.0% worldwide. There are two main explanations of schizophrenia: the biological explanations and the psychological explanations. In this essay I will critically consider the biological explanations. These include genetics, neurochemistry, brain structure and evolution.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder characterized by distorted thinking, impaired emotional responses, poor interpersonal skills and a distortion of reality. It is the most common of psychotic disorders that, in most countries around the world, affects around 1 per cent of the population. In terms of explanations for the disorder, two central types of explanations arise – psychological explanations and biological explanations. Whereas psychological explanations tend to focus on cognitive, emotional and environmental factors that may cause the disorder, biological explanations tend to focus on genetic, biochemical and neuro-anatomical factors as the cause of the

In this essay I will try to explain schizophrenia and talk about the main biological and psychological explanations, also showing how similar and different they are. Schizophrenia is defined in the oxford dictionary as 'a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. '1 schizophrenia has positive and negative symptoms, the positive being delusions, hallucinations and disordered thoughts whereas negative symptoms consist of expressionless faces, poverty of speech and lack of motivation.2 The

This paper defines schizophrenia from a biological and psychological perspective and also provides treatment to help combat symptoms of schizophrenia. This paper has three important contributions. First, by defining and expanding on schizophrenia from a biological perspective, I can identify the nature related predispositions. After expanding from a biological approach, secondly, I will analyze schizophrenia from a psychological aspect by determining if there is any environment or nurturing externals that can result to schizophrenia. Lastly, I will provide treatment details and also reveal early signs to schizophrenia. This paper is important because schizophrenia is an epic mental disease and it is crucially important to bring awareness to the public of how we can limit the illness. It is unclear whether schizophrenia have only a biological background or psychological background, but what was discovered is that both contribute to schizophrenia. Positive and negative treatment can be combatted undergoing pharmaceutical and psychotherapy,

Two Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia There are many biological explanations of schizophrenia. In this essay I will concentrate on the genetic explanation and biochemical explanation of the disorder. There are many studies that look in to genetics and the link to schizophrenia. This is dues to an original finding that schizophrenia runs in families and therefore suggests that genes are responsible for the disorder.

Schizophrenia is a disorder that has an effect on about 25 million people around the world (Myers, 2010). Schizophrenia is a brain damage, naturally created by the human body, that is caused by the genetically determined vulnerability of the blood-brain barrier (Voronov, 2013). This psychiatric disorder, like most others, is characterized by changes in behavior, thinking, reduced ability to feel normal emotions, and mood (Abad et al., 2011). The unique thing about schizophrenia is that the symptoms are split into two different sections: positive symptoms (the presences of behaviors and or feelings that are not usually present in humans) and negative symptoms (the lack of behaviors and or feelings that are usually present in humans). Positive symptoms are characterized by the patient having delusions and or hallucinations while negative symptoms are characterized by the patient having affective flattening, alogia, avolition, anhedonia, and asociality (Nasrollahi et al., 2012). Although these are general symptoms for schizophrenia, the symptoms differ between genders.

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

In the search for the etiology of schizophrenia, several possibilities have been investigated, including psychodynamic, autoimmune, and genetic, but two have been long pitted against each other: neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative. While there is evidence for both processes, current research is more supportive of a neurodevelopmental etiology. However, schizophrenia will likely not be explained by a single process. Since the current study did not include longitudinal studies, it is difficult to directly support either theory. But, indirect evidence was observed. The presence of ERG abnormalities in healthy high-risk offspring (Hebert et al., 2010) and widening of venules in unaffected co-twins supports neurodevelopment. The OCT findings, on the other hand, more support neurodegeneration. As discussed previously and summarized in Figures 3, 4, and 5, there is a negative correlation between duration of illness and RNFL and macular thickness. This could be secondary to a progressive loss of brain volume as detected by retinal thinning.

Schizophrenia is a very serious, long-term disorder that affects about 1% of the world’s population. It affects people anywhere from twenty years old, to forty-five years old. It is known to be one of the most disabling diseases in this age group. Schizophrenia can break down a person’s behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. People who suffer from schizophrenia usually show very inappropriate displays of their actions and feelings. Sufferers have been known to hear voices, even when there is nobody around them. They have problems controlling their thoughts, and sometimes blurt out things that are very inappropriate. This paper will outline the biological, social, and psychological

(Kalat, 2012). Bleuler used the term as a means of representing a major psychotic illness