Brain Disorders: The Causes Of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is characterized as a psychotic disease that dramatically affects one 's nervous system to a point of where every day basic functions can be inhibited. It is defined as the loss of contact with the external environment the person is in due to delusional thoughts and hallucinations. Perception and behavior of someone plagued with this disease is notably altered and their actions can become a concern of the people around them. Like many other diseases that affect the nervous system it is not curable at the current time but it can be treated to lessen the signs and symptoms of the disease.

Physiological Changes Due to Risperdal Hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, psychosis and thought disorder are all symptoms of Schizophrenia and people who suffer from these symptoms seek the treatment of atypical anti-psychotic medications. Those medicines include Risperidone (Risperdal), Clozapine (Clozaril) , Ziprasidone (Geodon) and Quetiapine(Seroquel). The purpose of these medications is to alleviate symptoms of Schizophrenia and lessen the chances of a recurrence. The basic function of Atypical Antipsychotics is to reduce the effects of blockage in the dopamine receptors and serotonin and allow communication between nerve cells. Dopamine is thought to be relevant in Schizophrenic symptoms and

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 psychological disease with an unknown treatment. Its onset starts in early adult hood on average. There are many studies showing links to genetics and environmental causes. In this paper I will discuss many of the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia along with how it is diagnosed, imaged with MRI, and the difficulty in treating this disease. More treatments for schizophrenia may be revealed with the further advancement of imaging technology. Schizophrenia is a disease that affects the most complex structure in the human body, the human brain. The more research that is continued on the smaller segments of the different areas of the brain with imaging modalities the closer we get to

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).

Other psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations may take days or weeks to improve. Previous forms of antipsychotics medications were loaded with side effects, but more recent agents are associated with less risk for adverse effects. Bipolar disorders are treated with mood stabilizers such as lithium and anticonvulsants, including cognitive behavioral therapy. Schizophrenia is treated with antipsychotic medications such as haloperidol, olanzapine and risperidone. Psychosis that is caused by drug and substance abuse focuses on detox and

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects the brain in many different ways. Schizophrenic people may be delusional, confused, agitated, and have a loss of personality. The word schizophrenia comes from the word skhizein meaning “to split”. Families of schizophrenics may be harmed and affected because anyone suffering from schizophrenia isn’t able to handle a job or care for anyone. Anyone with schizophrenia has to cope with the disorder for the rest of his life because treatment cannot fully demolish the disease. Neurotransmitters in schizophrenics don’t function properly. Till this day, there isn’t any test that can diagnose a person with schizophrenia. However, there are symptoms that can diagnose a person with schizophrenia, those

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

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

Schizophrenia is a disabling brain disorder that has affected many people over the years. This is not a common disease but it can be a serious and chronic one. Worldwide, about 1 percent of the population is diagnosed with schizophrenia and about 1.2 percent of Americans are diagnosed.

A questionnaire was given to assess whether stigma and social distance of schizophrenia was higher when related to social or biological causes. Previous research has shown high levels of avoidance on biological factors, but also shown that social environmental factors were effective for stigma. The questionnaire was given to first year psychology students which assessed three scales to test my variables. These scales helped form the data of the means of the variables that were tested. The biological mean, social distance mean and perceived dangerousness mean were correlated.

When does the system go awry in schizophrenia? Unlike Parkinsonism or Huntington’s, both chronic and progressive diseases, increasing evidence points to a defective neurodevelopmental process. Brain imaging techniques have exposed a variety of structural abnormalities in persons suffering from schizophrenia, and Weinberger’s monozygotic twin studies suggest that the structural differences seen in the affected twin were likely the result of developmental defects and not genetics (Kandel). Brains of schizophrenics have shown enlarged lateral ventricles (Nasralleh, 1993) that are associated with prominent prodromal symptoms (Wright, Gill, and Murray, 1993; Randel). They also have exhibited enlarged third ventricles (Nasralleh, 1993; Wright, Gill, and Murray, 1993; Kandel), present at the onset of illness and associated with both obstetric complications (see below) and prodromal symptoms (Nasralleh, 1993). Also demonstrated were hypoplasia of medial/limbic temporal structures, especially the hippocampus, and again present at the onset

Some studies have also shown that 25% of population have recover by schizophrenia disease and other 25% have improved their disorder over 10-year period. The patient might affect with the schizophrenia on genetic and heredity (“About”). In addition, I would also like to say that Schizophrenia patient mostly face the challenge in distinguishing between the truth and false. Moreover, there may be side effects if the patient tries to medicate himself and these side effects include dizziness and skin rashes.

There are many causes to Schizophrenia. Many causes are genetics, brain chemistry and structure, and the environment of a human being. Genetically Schizophrenia can run through a family and can be passed on generations at a time. “Individuals with a first degree relative (parent or sibling) who has schizophrenia have a 10 percent chance of developing the disorder, as opposed to the 1 percent chance of the general population.” (Helpguide.org) Identical twins are a good example of this. “If an identical twin is diagnosed with Schizophrenia the other twin is 50 percent more likely to also be diagnosed with the mental disorder (psychcentral.com).” Brain chemistry and structure is another big factor in the cause of Schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters-

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