Schizophrenia in Neuropsychology
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a rare but complex type of mental disorder which often has life-altering ramifications. Even though less than 1% of people all over the world are at risk of developing schizophrenia those who do may end up suffering from hallucinations, delusions and end up having difficulties in occupational and social situations they are in. with the knowledge of the symptoms and risk factors of the disorder which includes the onset of manifestation of the symptoms one can be able to spot the warning signs of this disorder.
Schizophrenia distorts the way a person thinks, expresses their emotions, acts, perceives reality and relates to other people. Those who have chronic schizophrenia have a problem when it comes to their functioning in the society, at their places of work, in schools and even within their relationships. Schizophrenia can leave an individual that is suffering from it frightened and withdrawn from the rest of the society (Sajatovic, Mullen, & Sweitzer 2006).This is a life long disease that can not be cured but can only be controlled with proper treatment. A common myth about schizophrenia is that it involves a split personality which is not true at all. It is psychosis, a type of mental illness whereby an individual can not tell the difference between reality and imagined things. People with this disorder behave strangely and in a manner that is quite shocking.
Most cases of schizophrenia appear in the late teens or even early adulthood, it can also appear for the first time during the middle age of an individual.in rare cases schizophrenia can affect young children or adolescents those symptoms in such cases appear slightly different. Generally, the earlier schizophrenia develops in a person the more severe the case will be. Schizophrenia is also more severe in man as compared to women.
Historical facts about schizophrenia
Mental illnesses were not understood well in ancient times. This means that conditions such as schizophrenia were not in any way differentiated from the other forms of mental illnesses. The word schizophrenia was coined by Eugen Bieuler in 1950 which was intended to describe the separation of function between thinking, personality, memory and perception. Bleuler was to first to give a description of the symptoms of schizophrenia as being either positive or negative both him and Kraepelin recognized that the symptoms of this disorder are classified into distinct categories. They came up with a typology of schizophrenic subtypes that are still being used in modern studies of schizophrenia. The history of schizophrenia is quite complex and in fact not an easy one to characterize in a linear historical avenue although attempts are still in place. According to some people the disease and been in existence for a long time but it was just "discovered during the early 20th century." But the plausibility of this claim is only dependent on the success of retrospectively diagnosing any earlier cases of madness and referring them as schizophrenia. According to other people the name schizophrenia refers to a culturally determined combined mental symptoms .what is know now as insanity in the 20th century has been divided into diseases like paranoia, bipolar disorder, it is worth noting that the mental symptoms which are included under the concept of schizophrenia are real enough and hence have the potential of making people suffer and hence will forever need to be understood and treated (Sajatovic, Mullen, & Sweitzer 2006).
Neural Basis of Schizophrenia
The neural basis of schizophrenia involves an imbalance of abnormal brain structures and neurotransmitters. Schizophrenia is associated with excessive amounts of a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Other neurotransmitters such as glutamate, serotonin, acetylcholine, gamma aminobututyric acid also play a role in the development of schizophrenia. The neural basis of schizophrenia development also involves abnormalities in the structure of hind brain, forebrain and limbic system. According to research reduced gray matter density in parts of the brain can be a factor that causes symptoms such as disorganized speech, thoughts and behavior in those suffering from schizophrenia. There are also structural abnormalities of the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus and cerebellum that contribute to the development of schizophrenia.
Possible causes of schizophrenia
The causes of this disorder have not been completely understood leading to the conclusion that it might be caused by a combination of environmental, psychological, social, genetic and neurological factors. Schizophrenia has a very strong hereditary component in that an individual that has a first degree relative either a parent or sibling that has schizophrenia has a 10% chance of developing this disorder as opposed to the 1% chance of individuals within the general population. However it is important to note that schizophrenia is only influenced by genetics but it is not determined by it. Furthermore those people who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia do not always end up developing this...
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