Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

I will be discussing my topic on how schizophrenia is treated and the affects of the disorder. In the book Psychology: A Journey, “schizophrenia is defined as delusions hallucination, apathy, thinking abnormalities, and a “split” between thought and emotion” (Coon and Mitterer). The illness usually occurs during late childhood or early adulthood.

There is no known cause to why people get schizophrenia. Although there are some theories that schizophrenia is caused from inherit genes, nature and dopamine. Genetics can play a big part in schizophrenia. A person is most likely to inherit schizophrenia from family members who have the illness or other mental illness associated with the disorder. For example, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and depression. Although studies show that most people with schizophrenia do not have any family members with the illness. The environment can contribute to the disorder also if the person has high level of stress, use of drugs and even during early child hood. Dopamine can also be another cause of schizophrenia. According to the website psychiatric disorders, “Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter necessary for relaying brain nerve cell impulses”. People with schizophrenia have a very large amount of dopamine receptors in the brain compared to an individual who does not have the disorder.

Schizophrenia has a huge impact affect on the following areas of the brain and nervous system, basal ganglia, auditory system, frontal lobe, limbic system, occipital lobe and hippocampus. The basal ganglion is affected by the disorder because it involves movement, emotion, and sensory, which contributes to hallucinations and paranoia. The auditory is affected because this is where a per...

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...nia, I cannot help but empathize for those who have it. Although there is still no definite cure or cause, I strongly encourage the family members to be patient and understanding to their loved ones.

Works Cited

Coon, Dennis, John O. Mitterer, and Art VanDeventer. "Schizophrenia." Psychology: a journey. 3rd ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 493.

Grohol, John M. "Schizophrenia Treatment." Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information. 10 Apr. 2006. Psych Central. 9 June 2010.

Nemade, Rashmi, and Mark Dombeck. "An Introduction to Schizophrenia & Schizoaffective Disorders." MentalHelp.net. 7 Aug. 2009. CenterSite, LLC. 10 June 2010.

Perivoliotis, Dimitri, Demain Rose, and Brian J. Schulman. "Schizophrenia." Schizophrenia.com, Indepth Schizophrenia Information and Support. Schizophrenia.com. 10 June 2010.