SCHIZOPHRENIA

Schizophrenia

A mental disorder characterized by deteriorated everyday functioning for at least 6 months, with symptoms including delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior.

Positive Symptoms

Behaviors present in schizophrenia that should be absent, such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior.

Negative Symptoms

Absent behaviors in schizophrenia that should be present, like weak emotional expression, speech, and socialization.

Cognitive Symptoms

Difficulties in maintaining attention, understanding abstract concepts, and memory impairments in schizophrenia.

Genetics and Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is not dependent on a single gene but has a higher probability in individuals with a closer genetic relationship to someone with the disorder.

Neurodevelopmental Hypothesis

Prenatal or neonatal influences can lead to brain abnormalities, making individuals vulnerable to disturbances in childhood or adolescence, impacting brain function and behavior.

Toxoplasma Gondii

A parasite that, if infecting the brain, impairs development and is linked to schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Mild Brain Abnormalities

Individuals with schizophrenia may show mild brain anatomy abnormalities, including reduced gray and white matter, enlarged ventricles, and abnormalities in subcortical areas.

Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia results from excess dopamine activity in certain brain areas, especially in response to stressful events, leading to hallucinations and delusions.

Glutamate Hypothesis of Schizophrenia

Deficient activity at glutamate synapses in the prefrontal cortex contributes to schizophrenia, where dopamine inhibits glutamate release or stimulates neurons that inhibit dopamine release.