Typical antipsychotic drugs (neuroleptics) work by reducing dopamine within schizophrenia sufferers. Common forms of neuroleptics include drugs such as Thorazine, Prolixin and Haldol. These drugs actually block the activity of the dopamine neurotransmitter, the drugs take effect within 48 hours but it can be several weeks before a noticeable difference is seen with symptom reduction. Barondes’s (1993) research looked into balancing the dosage of the drug, lowering the drug dosage reduced the side effects but also reduced the effectiveness of the drug meaning it wouldn’t necessarily be a successful or quick recovery compared to high dosages of the neuroleptics. Although this showed clear evidence for the effectiveness of neuroleptics in combating schizophrenia, emphasized when changing the dosage changes the effectiveness of the neuroleptics.…
One psychological explanation of SZ was put forward by Bateson et al (1956) who looked at childhood as a base for developing SZ, for example the interactions children have with their mothers. His explanation, the Double Bind theory, states that schizophrenia can occur due to conflicting messages given from parents to their children, for example when a parent expresses care but does so in a critical way. This means that the child will become confused as the message they are given is conflicting, as one message effectively invalidates the other. As a result, the child is left with self doubt and eventual withdrawal. Experiences such as these are said to cause schizophrenia as they prevent the development of an internally coherent construction of reality, in the end they are likely to experience schizophrenic type symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, and in some cases, paranoia. This theory therefore suggests that the home environment and the relationships a child has with their parents through messages plays a role in the development of schizophrenia. This is because there is no clear template of a loving relationship; instead the child is always unsure if they have done something wrong due to the conflicting messages they are given.…
There are certain chemical abnormalities that can be observed in people suffering from schizophrenia. Post-mortems on schizophrenics have shown unusually high levels of dopamine. Dopamine is a brain chemical that increases the sensitivity of the brain cells that promote the individual’s awareness of events around her or him when in danger or aroused and when under stress. If, however, the individual’s level of brain activity is already highly aroused, then the effects of additional dopamine activity may trigger the onset of a psychotic state, such as schizophrenia. Seeman (1987) reviewed a number of studies and found a 60-110 density increase in dopamine receptor cells in schizophrenics compared to controls. Wong (1986) found twice the increase in dopamine receptor cells in untreated schizophrenics compared to normal controls and untreated schizophrenics. These show that the much higher levels of dopamine activity in the brain of a schizophrenic may cause or trigger the disease. However where these biological changes do occur they could be the result of the schizophrenia rather than the cause, or linked in ways we have yet to discover.…
Alzheimer’s brains show to have low levels of ACH-Acetylcholine. Schizophrenia is linked to excess levels of dopamine.…
Increased cerebral flexibility and variation in brain function came with the “disadvantageous byproduct” of personality disorders and psychosis. One theory proposes that new neural pathways established in the brain have been advantageous, but are randomized so that nonadaptive “misconnections” are also formed. Such trial and error would produce various results, potentially producing characteristics that could be classified as schizophrenia. However, the theory that schizophrenia is a random phenomenon fails to address the fact that schizophrenia and other mental disorders have a specific, organized array of symptoms. Diet may have been a factor in the evolution of schizophrenia. In the last two million years, some essential fatty acids have been more available which may have led to an increase in neural microconnectivity (Polemeni 2003). Such an increase could potentially result in over-excitability in some areas of the brain, which may be associated with paranoia or…
A biological explanation of schizophrenia is the dopamine hypothesis, amounts of low levels of dopamine in the brain causes a loss of balance and co-ordination, it has been found in people with ADHD and Parkinson's disease. Where as high levels of dopamine is linked to schizophrenia. The neurons containing dopamine are in the brain in a part called the substantia nigra, when we experience a happy event the dopamine gets released and fills the synapse and bind…
Schizophrenia does not just affect one part of the brain but rather many parts. The main areas of the brain that it affects are the forebrain, hindbrain, and the limbic system. It is believed that Schizophrenia is caused by an overactive dopamine system in the brain (Brain Explorer, 2011). Dopamine is a chemical that is produced in the brain when we are experiencing certain pleasures. Drugs such as methamphetamine also cause the dopamine in our brain to fire off at a very high rate. The smaller parts of the brain that are believed to be affected by schizophrenia are the frontal lobe, cingulate gyrus, temporal lobe, the amygdala, hippocampus, the cerebellum, and the thalamus.…
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that, when comorbid with substance abuse disorder (cocaine & alcohol abuse disorder), causes various effects on the physical and mental capacities. Schizophrenia by itself produces various effects on the physical and mental processes, so when people with Schizophrenia have comorbid substance abuse or alcohol abuse disorder they increase their chances of experiencing problems. Ziedonis & Fisher (1994) found that on average, 33% of people suffering from schizophrenia abuse cocaine. Burgemeester (2013) found that over 51 million people in the world suffer from Schizophrenia and around 2.2 million people with Schizophrenia live in the United States. According to modern statistics, Drug Abuse and Schizophrenia…
Brown and Birley studied stressful life events in the role of relapse in schizophrenics. They found that 50% of people experience a stressful life event e.g. death, relationship break-up, job loss etc. in the 3 weeks prior to a schizophrenic episode. A control sample reported a low and unchanging level of stressful life events over the same period.…
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder in which a persons personal, social, and occupational functioning in normal life deteriorates to unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor abnormalities. A person struggling with schizophrenia will lose contact with reality and begin to lose the ability to function at home, school, or work. Individuals may also suffer from hallucinations and or delusions. There are three main categories of symptoms for schizophrenia: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and psychomotor symptoms. Positive symptoms consist of multiple additions to a persons behavior such as: delusions, disorganized thinking and speech, heightened perceptions and hallucinations, and inappropriate affect” (Comer 387).…
Schizophrenia explanations are both psychological and biological however the best solution is probably the diathesis stress model; this combines both biological and psychological approaches to schizophrenia. The diathesis stress model suggests that people have vulnerability for schizophrenia (diathesis) which develops only if the individual is exposed to certain environmental factors (a stressor.)…
In hopes to gain a position as a working psychologist, I would first like to discuss Schizophrenia. With Schizophrenia this disorder has casual factors, related symptoms, the areas of the brain it affects, and the neural basis of the disorder. I will also like to discuss suitable drug therapies that will be compatible with Schizophrenia. In addition to what I will discuss I will also be reviewing two separate case studies, each on a different disorders. I will be investigative to each problem from the perspective of a bio psychologist. I will define the patient’s diagnosis I will also be relating each case of the cases to the nature-nurture theory. This theory will better help me understand each disorder. I will also be speaking about helpful drug interventions and solutions for each disorder. When I like to talk about the tool of drug intervention, I like to speak about the positive and negative effects that the drugs may have on the individual. Last but not least I will discuss the treatment methods that I have found through research to be effective for both disorders of the disorders.…
Research into dopamine hypothesis comes from medication given to schizophrenics and healthy individuals. Amphetamines are drugs which produce a state closely linked to paranoid schizophrenia. They can also exacerbate the symptoms of those who currently have schizophrenia. They release three neurotransmitters, the bulk of which is dopamine. Researchers are sure of the fact that the psychosis induced effect of amphetamines is due to increase in dopamine as antipsychotics are an effective treatment for amphetamine psychosis.…
Schizophrenia is a psychological chronic disorder that disables the brain from functioning normally. When people hear the word schizophrenia, many people link it with hallucinations, hearing voices, and paranoia. But what particular aspect is associated with the cause of schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disease for which no clear cause is known. Many people only know the effect of having schizophrenia, but not what contributed to the development. Without many people realizing it, having either a tragic childhood, a traumatic brain injury or even using cannabis, are in fact, major factors to the contribution of the diagnosis of schizophrenia.…
No cause of schizophrenia has been identified, but a number of cases have been caught up and are the subject of research. Schizophrenia is thought to be the end result of a combination of genetic, neurobiological, and environmental causes. It can be inherited or causes by environmental factors as well. Most cases of schizophrenia appear in the late teens or early adulthood. A big hypothesis looks at the relationship between the disease and excessive levels of dopamine, a chemical that transmits signals in the brain (neurotransmitter). The genetic factor in schizophrenia has been emphasized by recent findings that first-degree biological relatives of schizophrenics are ten times as likely to develop the disorder as are members of the…