Schizophrenia Research Paper

A good question to ask here is how disorganized schizophrenia is diagnosed? There are a few things that need to be done in order to diagnose someone. First a physical exam is issued. The patient’s height, weight, heart rate, and blood pressure is measured. Second the patient’s complete blood count is taken to check for alcohol and drugs in the system. An MRI is then done because the physician wants to look for any brain lesions or any abnormalities in the brain. Last but not least a psychological evaluation is done by the patient being asked about their thoughts, feelings, and their behavior

Instead, schizophrenia genetics leave some people susceptible to the illness, which is triggered by environmental factors.

Experts think that there could be genetic predisposition that can be triggered by early life experiences and environmental factors (Everyday Health). The disorder occurs in 1% of the general population, but in 10% of people who have a 1st degree relative with the illness. There are many environmental and behavioral risk factors believed to be associated with schizophrenia (Psychology Today). These risk factors include childhood exposure to lead and X-rays, or certain viruses in utero or as an infant. Another risk factor believed to be connected to the illness is childhood isolation. Alcohol and substance abuse along with tobacco use are also presumed to be risk factors (Everyday Health). “If schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders share genetic underpinnings, then this strongly challenges the rigid diagnostic boundaries that separate these psychiatric disorders and might have clinical implications.” (BBR

From the first months of life, premorbid developmental impairments are recorded in more than half of those who develop childhood onset schizophrenia; childhood onset is usually insidious and suggests early disruption of brain development (Masi, Mucci and Pari, 2006). There are genetic and environmental factors to schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects around 45% of all psychiatric patients around the world. The symptoms which are used to describe schizophrenia are often misdiagnosed as major depression, or bipolar disorder; although schizophrenia involves both depression and bipolar disorders, it is classified as cognitive dysfunction which affects both the host psychologically, and neurologically. Indications of this disorder include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, emotional flattening, paranoia, strange

Schizophrenia is quite possible the most dreaded psychological disorder there is. It is also one of the most heavily researched (Myers, 477). Unfortunately there is no concrete evidence to point toward one simple cause. However, there are several factors that have been researched, and have been proven to increase vulnerability to this disorder. Genetic predisposition, brain abnormalities, prenatal and perinatal have been discussed as an array of contributing causes. There is no doubt that genetic predisposition enhances the probability of schizophrenia. A child who has a biological parent that has been diagnosed with schizophrenia has approximately a one in eight chance of developing this dreaded disorder (Berger, 407). Being a

It has been conclude, as a matter of fact, that genetics do play a major role in the cause of schizophrenia. For example, the probability of receiving schizophrenia as a result of being the child of two parents without the disease is 1%. If one parent has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the probability of having schizophrenia as the offspring of this parent is 13%. The chance is 35% if both the parents of the child have been diagnosed with schizophrenia(Schizophrenia.com). This proves that biogenetics do indeed take part in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia can arise from biological and environmental factors. Genetics are thought to play a role in the development of schizophrenia. It is currently unknown which genes are specifically involved in causing schizophrenia, but the it has been observed that the more genetically similar someone is to a person with schizophrenia, the more risk there is of developing it (King).

Studies have showed that schizophrenia is not a genetic disease, there isn’t one single gene that causes schizophrenia. (Hirvonen, J., & Hietala). There multiple risk factors that can cause schizophrenia in an individual. For example it can be an environmental or a genetic risk factor it can also be how they interact with others. (Hirvonen, J., & Hietala).

There are a ton of reasons for one to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. Schizophrenia can be hereditary in some cases but in most it has been known to be environmental. One cause liked to schizophrenia is low levels of folate acid and defective folate metabolism which mean the MTHFR gene mutation can lead to schizophrenia in some cases.

Al, 1999). These stresses included low birth weight, premature labour, or a lack of oxygen during birth. Dalman found that when he researched obstetric (birth complications) factors when meta-analysing a 507516 children he found that there was a strong link between those who had unorthodox births such as vacuum extraction, caesareans etc. A strength of this study which explains the cause for schizophrenia is that it has high generalisability due to such a large sample size being used of 507516 children being monitored over a period of time. Therefore, the conclusion that birth abnormalities can lead to schizophrenia and be a cause for it is representative of the rest of

Environment plays a role in determining the severity of schizophrenia in an individual. In the text, “Schizophrenia in Focus”, it states, “An urban environment seems to particularly likely to give rise to schizophrenia” (Taylor, 2006, p. 14). This depicts that the surroundings of an individual may be a stressor for them. For instance, in urban settings, stress is higher due to noise pollution, competition, and pressure. Genetics also influences the development of schizophrenia. In the text, “Schizophrenia A Very Short Introduction”, it states, “…the risk of schizophrenia increases from approximately 1% in the general population to 50% in the offspring of two schizophrenic patients…” (Frith & Johnstone, 2003, p. 93). This illustrates that individuals with inheritances from their parents may tend to lean towards a certain mental illness. If their parents have schizophrenia, it is somewhat likely for them to also develop it. Obstetric complications also influence the development of schizophrenia. Obstetric complications may consist of problems in pregnancy, fetal growth, and delivery (Taylor, 2006, p. 13-14). It is evident that many individuals who had complications at birth showed signs of schizophrenia later in life. The season an individual was born can also trigger the rise of schizophrenia. Many individuals with schizophrenia had been born in late winter

There are many aspects that characterize schizophrenia. Schizophrenics usually behave in a strange or abnormal manner where the mind is separated from reality and the difference between what is real and not is unknown. A schizophrenic therefore has distorted ideas about who they are and about life. Feelings of withdrawal, worthlessness and emptiness also appear

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia include: flat affect, unhappy with daily life, not interested in performing daily activities, and having decrease conversations (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The cognitive symptoms include: decrease the ability to function, focusing, and short term memory (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). One of the positive symptom that R.B. is suffering from is hallucinations.

Studies have also proved that “having a first-degree relative with schizophrenia increases the risk developing schizophrenia to almost 10%” (Varcarolis & Halter, 2014). The pathophysiology of schizophrenia is complicated, including inherited gene abnormalities in combination with environmental factors. Interactions between specific genes on different chromosomes result in malfunctioning dopaminergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic communication pathways in the brain – making one vulnerable to this disorder (Deng & Dean, 2014). “Deficits in acetylcholine muscarinic receptors… and inflammation has also been found to play a major role in the development and exacerbation of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia” (Deng & Dean, 2014, p.3). Environmental factors possibly promoting brain inflammation and adding to the advancement of the disease in susceptible persons are pregnancy or birth complications, increased cortisol levels, childhood sexual abuse, exposure to adversity or psychological trauma, toxins – specifically tetrachloroethylene (Varcarolis & Halter,