Schizophrenia - biology

What are positive symptoms

enhancement of normal behaviour

Examples of positive symptoms

• hallucinations

• delusions

• disorganised speech and thinking

What are negative symptoms

attenuation (reduction) of normal behaviour

Examples of negative symptoms

• avolition (lack of motivation, e.g. neglecting hygiene or work)

• alogia (poverty of speech)

• affective flattening (reduced emotional expression

• social withdrawal

Examples of cognitive symptoms

• abnormalities of attention

• memory and executive cognitive function

In the DSM-5 diagnosis for schizophrenia, for a month individuals must display two or more of the following symptoms:

• delusions *

• hallucinations *

• disorganised speech *

• very abnormal activity, including catatonia (motionless)

• negative symptoms

* core symptoms

How is schizophrenia described by WHO

“Schizophrenia is a sere mental disorder, characterised by profound disruptions in thinking, affecting language, perception, and the sense of self”

Symptomology in individual patients show what type of fluctuations

periodic fluctuations

What is the peak onset of schizophrenia

late adolescents and early adulthood

• between 20 and 29 years of age

Evidence suggests what aspects are important in determining schizophrenia onset

• genetic

• biological

• social

Parents and siblings of sufferers are how many times more likely to be schizophrenic

10 times more likely

Children of suffers are how many times more likely to be schizophrenic

15 times more likely

Concordance rate