Schizophrenic Case Studies

Expert’s reason that unevenness in the complicated interconnected chemical responses of the brain connecting the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate, and maybe others, performs a part in schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters are elements that permit brain cells to interconnect with each other. Experts are acquiring more about brain chemistry and its connection to schizophrenia. Similarly, in small methods the brains of people with schizophrenia appear diverse than those of healthful people. For instance, fluid-filled holes at the middle of the brain, called ventricles, are greater in certain people with schizophrenia. The brains of people with the disorder similarly manage to have less grey matter, and certain

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

(2) However, there are some problems with this evidense. Amphetamines only mimic the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. They do not produce any of the negative symptoms. Likewise, anti-psychotic drugs are only affective on the positive symptoms of the disease. There is still some evidense that schizophrenics do posess higher levels of dopamine, however, these increases are only found in the striatum of the brain (7). The striatum is a region of the brain that receives its inputs from and outputs to the cortex. Injury to the striatum results in problems with intiation and control of motor behavior. (9) Also, there is evidence that the prefrontal cortex produces lower levels of dopamine. (4) The prefrontal cortex is involved in the organization and coordination of information to and from the cortex. (7)

Patients with schizophrenia resulted to having antibodies in their systems while the other group did not. (Grison, Heatherton, and Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 521). Other researchers have presented arguments of their being abnormalities in the neural transmitters. (Grison, Heatherton, and Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 521). Dopamine is one neural transmitter researchers have taken a major interest in because medication given to schizophrenics blocking the dopamine transmitters seem to help calm the severity of the symptoms of a wide number of patients. Although doctors are not yet certain of the cause of schizophrenia they are certain of the fact that people with schizophrenia have less brain tissue due to having large ventricles.

Because of the prevalence of copious quantities of dopamine in people who have schizophrenia, most medications attempt to prevent the buildup of dopamine by blocking it in the striatum. Other methods in which drugs for this condition help to counteract the effects of dopamine, however, are more indirect. There are medications that are under development that "interfere with glutamate signals in the brain" (Nauert, 2010) that are targeted towards affecting glutamate, which in turn will then positively influence the levels of dopamine that the brain releases. In both ways then, (direct and indirect), dopamine is the primary focus of schizophrenia medication.

“New test and machines also enabled researchers to study the structure of schizophrenic brains.” There were studies done to compare those of a normal brains and ones affected by Schizophrenia, it showed several structural differences. “The most common finding was the enlargement of the lateral ventricles, which are

The estimated incidence of urea cycle disorders varies between 1 in 8,000 and 1 in 44,000 births. Since many cases of urea cycle disorders remain undiagnosed and/or infants born with the disorders die without a definitive diagnosis, the exact incidence of these cases is unknown and is underestimated6,8.

Therapy for psychosis often works best when combined with medication, although this is not always

A study done by Hietala J, Syvalahti E, Vuorio K, et al. on acutely psychotic schizophrenic patients using a PET scanning found elevated presynaptic striatal dopamine availability. Seven out of nine studies in patients showed elevated dopamine synapse activity which concluded an effect size between 0.63 to 1.89 resulting in this being the highest dopamine brain abnormality associated with schizophrenia. There are a few first- and second-generation antipsychotics that work fundamentally by blocking dopamine D2 receptors, thereby affecting dopamine transmission in the brain. However, some of these drugs are not very effective in the treatment of negative schizophrenia symptoms. This leads researcher to postulate there is other neurotransmitters involved in schizophrenia. Which brings me to the Glutamate

Supporters of change have impacted suppliers and policymakers who serve patients with co-occurring disorders. It now is by, and large recognized that these patients have needed to explore divided frameworks and that they have gotten treatment that is less open and less compelling than the medical services framework can convey. For quite some time the presence of a co-occurring disorder diagnosis has been ignored, overlooked or misdiagnosed, health care providers and policymakers now perceive that these conditions are prevalent and that the dominant part of patients with substance abuse issues doubtlessly has a co-occurring disorder.

The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain located right behind the forehead. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for problem solving, processing complex thoughts, and causing emotions. According to Chakraborty, improper function of the prefrontal cortex results in loss of these capabilities and the characteristic disordered thinking of schizophrenia. Impaired function of the prefrontal cortex in people with schizophrenia may be related to the excessive release of the brain chemical dopamine. The prefrontal cortex is connected to the basal ganglia which is an area in the brain also affected. The basal ganglia is known for producing dopamine. Dopamine plays a role in the regulation in coordinated movement, motivation, and the reward pathway. This pathway supplements patterns of behavior that make a person feel better. A July 2013 study report published in "Biological Psychiatry" noted that brain imaging studies show increased activity in the basal ganglia and decreased connectivity between this region and the prefrontal cortex in people with schizophrenia. The limbic system is responsible for the functions of emotional responses, memory, motivation, and the olfactory system. In people with schizophrenia, both the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system have abnormal brain chemistry. Neurons in the brain are associated with each other electrically and chemically. Electrical synapses migrate down a neuron as an action potential to the adjacent cell membrane. The action potential signal then reaches the axon terminal. The information is relayed chemically by these

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 initial indication of schizophrenia being a factor of dopamine was amphetamine consumers. Amphetamine causes several symptoms of schizophrenia including: delusions and hallucinations. In schizophrenics there is an unsteady, high amount of dopamine in the brain. Antipsychotic drugs work to lower the presence of dopamine on the brain by impeding dopamine receptors. There are two primary dopamine receptors, D1 and D2. In schizophrenic patients the latter is split into D2, D3 and D4 subtypes. Dopamine activators are found in the striatum, prefrontal cortex and limbic system of the brain. Clinical research has observed an increase of dopamine in the emotion controlling striatum through PET and SPECT brain scans. Unfortunately there is no one pinpointed cause of high dopamine levels. Many of these causes are: Agitation, anxiety, cognitive acuity, feeling of pleasure, hedonism, high energy, high libido, insomnia, paranoia and

There are over a hundred different types of mental disorders but the most common psychotic disorder is schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects approximately 3.5 million people in the United States. The symptoms include: “hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking (speech), grossly disorganized or abnormal motor behavior (including catatonia) and negative symptoms.” ( Barnhill 19) Symptoms of schizophrenia begin to appear around late youth/ early adulthood and must be persistent for a length of at least six months to be concluded as schizophrenia. DSM-IV analyzes the schizoaffective disorder in which patients must show signs of “major depressive

The two diagnosis I considered after my first session with Caleb were Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophreniform Disorder. Caleb clearly displayed deficits in both social communication and social interaction during our session. Caleb was so socially withdrawn, that his mother, Nina, was the person I communicated with throughout the entirety of our session. Caleb occasionally mumbled responses to some of the questions; his answers ranged from “yes”, “no” to “I don’t know”, although he mumbled thank you to one of my compliments, Caleb definitely displayed deficits in social-emotional reciprocity. Caleb also exhibited deficits in nonverbal communication, avoiding eye contact throughout our entire session, he even avoided eye contact with his