Definition of Schizophrenia
mental illness which affects how brain work
chronic problems with abnormal thoughts, behaviour
certain symptoms are experienced for at least a year, e.g hallucinations
affects ~0.3%-0.7% of people, more common in men
require lifelong care and treatment
Causes
1. Family history and genetics
1.1 Family connections
greatly affect the risk of having schizophrenia
e.g if an identical twins has schizophrenia, the kids will have 50% of chances to having the same illness; if both parents have schizophrenia, you have 40% of chances of developing it
affect by genetics but not family environment
children have high chances of given up for adoption→ parents can’t take care of them anymore
only genes won’t cause schizophrenia
2. Environmental factors
2.1 Viral infections
exposure to virus
possible traits of a virus: e.g attacking certain brain areas, infecting someone and staying in the body for many years, causing abnormal but minor physical problems, and affects neurotransmitters
2.2 Herpes viruses
may be caused by 2 herpes viruses: HSV (herpes simplex virus), CMV (cytomegalovirus)
2.3 Other infectious influences
having toxoplasmosis gondii antibodies (protozoan parasite carried by cats)
data shows a person who is raised around cats is more likely to develop schizophrenia
2.4 Exposure to toxins
being exposed to harmful toxins, even during the early period of schizophrenia’s development
toxins show possible influence (alcohol and lead)
2.5 Lead
significant influence
can be found in gasoline, paint, tap water etc.
3. Societal factors
3.1 Live in a populated area
risk of having schizophrenia in urban areas is larger than rural areas
3.2 Prenatal exposure to hunger
famine during pregnancy means that children have a high risk of developing schizophrenia
3.3 Family environment
increase stress and chances of being abused by parents/people in the family who have schizophrenia
may develop schizophrenia themselves
people who have schizophrenia may not have trauma from their past - they could have had a loving and caring family
therefore people often blame the parents for the children’s illnesses
4. Brain and body risk factors
4.1 Early disruptions
complicated process
neurogical events
abnormalities
e.g more common for the children who are born in spring or winter, birth complications and famine increase the risk for the children to have schizophrenia
not enough evidence to prove that developmental theories make schizophrenia disorganized
4.2 Neurochemicals
involve irregularities in chemicals of the brain
neurotransmitters with drugs (amphetamine and PCP)
dopamine inbalance
abnormalities in the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate
5 Lifestyle factors
5.1 Stress
physiological effects that cause psychiatric disorder, e.g post-traumatic stress disorder
cause high-blood pressure, heart disease etc.
traumas, e.g wars, natural disasters, imprisonment, sexual abuse
psychogical stress
5.2 Life-changing events
loss, e.g family member’s death, jobs etc.
cause suicide, withdrawal, loss of motivation
Symptoms
Psychosis: abnormal state which high functions of mind are disruptedPositive symptoms: only present in someone who has schizophreniaNegative symptoms: disappearing traits from the person who has schizophreniaCognitive symptoms: the way the person thinkspsychotic disorderHallucinations:
false sensory experiences
not caused by drugs or alcohol
auditory and visual hallucinations are the most common
hearing voices, sounds, seeing patterns, objects that are not real, feeling sensations
Flattened affect:
emotionless
no reactions to situations
no facial expressions, hand gestures at all
Difficulty maintaining attention:
easily ‘spaces out’ when listening to others
unable to focus on someone
emotions and beliefs become disorganized and away from realityDelusions:
fixed, false, distorted belief
doesn’t make sense
strongly believe their own belief, so convinced that no one can change their mind
Anhedonia:
lack of joy
nothing can bring them happiness
lack of positive emotions
Difficulty planning and structuring activities:
caused by reduced executive function
disorganized work
unable to identify a step in a task
Disorganized speech:
impossible to understand to most people
not speech error but a bunch of words that is difficult to interpret
Reduced speech:
speak less than usual
less fluent when speaking
Memory problems:
unable to remember things, e.g birth date, address etc.
Disorganized behaviour:
unsensible and unreasonable behaviour
e.g taking clothes off in public, shouting at random people in the street
Lack of initiative:
losing motiviation
no plans to do anything
Lack of insight:
have specific cognitive blind spot that makes them oblivious to the fact that they have schizophrenia
SOURCES
Researcher: Karina
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