Genetic Transmission In Schizophrenia Case Study

What is the likely role of genetic transmission in schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia has been defined as a “significant loss of contact with reality, often referred to as psychosis” (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley & Carson 2004 p.458). Although schizophrenia is termed as one illness, it is more likely that it is a combination of disorders with “a variety of etiologies, courses and outcomes’ (American Psychiatric Association 1997 p.49). The symptoms of the illness include hearing voices and a conviction that external forces are interacting on the person. An overall disillusionment with life results from these symptoms and tends to lead to detrimental effects on everyday functioning. The causes of this disorder are unclear, however it has been shown to
These children had been looked after by other family members or put into foster homes. It was found that these children had a 16% chance of becoming schizophrenic, compared to a 1% chance of a random sample of similar children in the same area. It was also found that these children were significantly more likely to become mentally retarded, neurotic and psychopathic. This is evidence for the claim that schizophrenia comes from a multitude of other abnormalities, as well as that there may be a genetic cause that carries over generations. The reasons for the children of the mothers developing the disorder may be due to two factors, one is that the similar genes of the child to the mother lead to the predisposition of schizophrenia. Another is that the unrest of the child’s development, due to the hospitalization of the mother and living with a new or altered family could lead to a difficult development which in turn could lead to disorders in adult
A predisposition to the illness through certain genes results in environmental exposures having effects that may either accelerate or slow down the onset of the disease. If certain genes are never ‘turned on’ at all by the environment, it could be said that the onset of schizophrenia may never occur at all. It is also possible that childhood and birth complications may have an effect on the speed of onset of the illness. Cannon et al (1993) found that it was only those who had a parent with schizophrenia as well as birth complications that later were found to have brain abnormalities, including enlarged ventricles within the brain. This could suggest that life events may have an exacerbated effect if a person has family members with the disease, giving evidence towards a combination of gene and environmental