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Case study of schizophrenia
Outline and evaluate schizophrenia
Essay On Schizophrenia Understanding
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Schizophrenia. Only a miniscule one percent of the population, on average, is effected by this neurological disorder. Equally miniscule is the general understanding of the disorder. One aspect of the experiment conducted by Sarah Hart, Joshua Bizzell, Mary McMahon, Hongbin Gu, Diana Perkins, and Aysenil Berger was to broaden and deepen the understanding of schizophrenia as well as defining symptom markers to more easily identify the disease in children and adolescents who have a familial high risk for schizophrenia.
To begin, the major purpose of this study, defined by the experimenters, was to identify functional diversity amongst the executive and emotional processing areas of the brain, which maturate with cortical areas of the brain in adolescents. Adolescents being the age in which symptoms of schizophrenia tend to emerge, the naturally arising inquiry becomes that of: do individuals with a familial high risk for schizophrenia show a development of the disorder through differences in fronto-striatal-limbic activity when compared to those who do not have a familial high risk? The answer to this question is equivalent to the hypothesis for the experiment. Given that a widely considered cause of schizophrenia is inefficient cortical -processing, the experimenters believe the participants who have a familial high risk would present signs of hyperactivation in the fronto-striatal-limbic circuitry relative to the control group (those who do not have a familial high risk), due to the brain compensating for loss of brain tissue.
Secondly, in order to conduct the experiment, the experimenters had to operationally define who someone with a familial high risk for schizophrenia exactly was. Familial high risk was defined as having a f...
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... in terms of understanding schizophrenia as a disorder. In order to solve a problem, on must first understand what is causing the problem. Once fully understood, the next step can be taken in creating a cure or improved medications for schizophrenic patients. This experiment did not solve the answer for how to cure schizophrenia; it did however, take an important and necessary step in increasing the understanding of what areas are possibly effected by schizophrenia early on in life. This information creates new pathways for more research to be conducted in the future and takes one step closer in formulating a cure.
Works Cited
Belger, Aysenil, Sarah Hart, Joshua Bizzel, Mary McMahon, Hongbin Gu, and Diana Perkins.
"Altered fronto–limbic activity in children and adolescents with familial high risk for schizophrenia." Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging: 19-27. Web.
Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
The causes of schizophrenia and the related psychotic illness have been the subject of much
The neurodevelopmental Basis of Schizophrenia. Austin, TX: Landes Co.
“Update on Family Psychoeducation for Schizophrenia” was published in the March 2000 issue of the Schizophrenia Bulletin by Oxford Journals. Schizophrenia Bulletin is written for medical academics specialising in the field of Schizophrenia and assumes a background understanding of the field. However it is aimed at “the widest possible audience” (Oxford Journals, para 2, 2012) and thus seeks readership of those involved in the field, in a less medical nature also.
Mental illnesses are diseases that plague a being’s mind and corrupts one’s thoughts and feelings. Schizophrenia is one of the many disastrous illnesses that consume one’s life, is known as a real disease that deserves much attention. Experts believe that what causes the illness is a defect in the gene’s of the brain, and little signs of schizophrenia are shown until about one’s early adult years. Some effects of schizophrenia can either be negative or positive, but even if the effects could be either one, people should still be aware that there is something puzzling and alarming happening in the mind of a schizophrenic patient.
Coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1950, the term ‘Schizophrenia’ refers to a group of mental disorders with heterogeneous outcomes. The most prevalent subtype of schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. Typically, this disorder is characterized by psychosis, in which the patient suffers from altered perceptions of reality. According to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – V), the typical subtypes – paranoid, catatonic and disorganized, among others have been eliminated, although the general definition of the disorder remains unchanged. These changes were made due to the clinically diverse prognosis, pathophysiology and etiology of the disorder, which add to its heterogeneity1, 2. In addition, sex of the patient and age of onset of the disorder also contribute to schizophrenia’s diverse effects. The age of onset and sex of the patient heavily influence the demographics and course of paranoid schizophrenia, and in turn are also affected by the patients ethnicity and any premorbid conditions the patient may have suffered1, 3...
Schizophrenia is considered a disease of the brain, a physical disorder that, thanks to modern technology, is able to be visualized. Schizophrenia, along with other diseases of the brain, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and multiple sclerosis, are all brain diseases which alter both functionality and structure of the brain. Schizophrenia has been called a cruel disease, one that impairs life greatly in a degenerative fashion, altering emotions and various abilities greatly. This unfortunate disease is quite common, effecting about one to two percent of the World's population. About two to four percent of the population suffer from less severe yet still debilitating and disturbing schizophrenic-like symptoms. An estimated sixty five billion a dollars per year is spent on this disorder in the United States.(2) It is estimated that over two million Americans suffer from schizophrenia in their lifetime..
The domination of schizophrenia in specific geographical countries suggests a strong association between genetics and schizophrenia’s aetiology. Surveys regarding adopted, by different families, monozygotic twins were made. These surveys were established to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and genes. The studies showed a potent genetic aetiology. Chances increase by fifty percent to develop schizophrenia once the other twins be diagnose with the disorder. Among schizophrenic patients, having schizophrenic siblings increases the chances of developing schizophrenia by eight percent. Other family studies have showed that 12% of children with schizoph...
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects one to two percent of people worldwide. The disorder can develop as early as the age of five, though it is very rare at such an early age. (3)) Most men become ill between the ages of 16 and 25 whereas most women become ill between the ages of 25 and 30. Even though there are differences in the age of development between the sexes, men and women are equally at risk for schizophrenia. (4) There is of yet no definitive answer as to what causes the disorder. It is believed to be a combination of factors including genetic make-up, pre-natal viruses, and early brain damage which cause neurotransmitter problems in the brain. (3)
National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health. Schizophrenia. 31 Jan 2013. Web. 15 May 2014
Walker, E., Kestler, L., Bollini, A., & Hochman, K. M. (2004). Schizophrenia: Etiology and course. Annual Review of Psychology, 55(1), 401-430. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141950
There are many disorders throughout the world that affect people on a daily basis. They are life altering and life changing. They affect how a person can function on a normal level of life. This, in itself, is an interesting way of viewing the disorder, but it truly is the way that schizophrenia is viewed. The term normal is in its self a complex concept, but to understand that for the purpose of schizophrenia; normal is anything that deviates from the socially accepted way of conducting one’s self. The person affected by this disorder is drifting away from reality and, at the same time, drifting away from who they have been their whole life.
To answer the question stated earlier, adolescent schizophrenia is an interesting and puzzling disorder where the brain becomes severely immobilized. There are 4 main types of schizophrenia all based on age. Very early onset schizophrenia, VEOS, occurs before the child’s 13th birthday. Early onset schizophrenia, EOS, will be seen before the 18th birthday. Childhood onset schizophrenia, COS, which occurs at the pre-pubertal stage, in relation to the chronological age of the child, will be shown when the child is 12 years old or younger. Finally adolescent-onset schizophrenia is shown between the ages of 13 and 17. Some of the main reasons for this disorder are neurobiological and neurophysiological difficulties and genetic problems. The problematic part of the genes happen on chromosomes 6, 8,10,13,18 and 22. With neurobiological problems, some symptoms would be reduced cerebral volume, changes in serotonergic and noradrenergic systems. Neurophysiological aspects consist of a lowered IQ, reduced language perception, poor speech production and formal thought disorders. Many other problems can come with having schizophrenia. Some the main reoccurring problems that are associated with this disorder are hallucinations and delusions, and there is actually a vast difference between the two. Hallucinations can be auditory, gustatory or ...
For example, some forms of schizophrenia are accompanied by periods of complete immobility, whereas others may involve weird facial grimaces and odd gesturing. Attention is al...
This chapter got into more depth about people with schizophrenia. This was one topic I never really knew too much information about it. For a person to be classified as having a psychological disorder, the person’s behavior must not only be unusual, but also disturbing. The people with schizophrenia often suffer symptoms such as hearing voices, people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, plotting against them. Reading this chapter has showed me that schizophrenia is a serious disorder and a very dangerous psychological disorder to themselves and the people around them. The cause of schizophrenia is still unclear. Some theories about the cause of this disease are genetics, biology; and possible infections and immune disorders. Symptoms may develop slowly over months or years, or may appear very