Known As Cognitive Symptoms Sources From Schizophrenia example essay topic

INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness. Patients experience progressive personality changes and a breakdown in their relationships with the outside world. They have disorganized and abnormal thinking, behaviour and language and become emotionally unresponsive or withdrawn". The first signs, usually only noticed in looking back on events, are likely to include an unexpected withdrawal of the degree or type of contact that the person used to have with family or school. The person seems less capable of of dealing with 'minor's tresses in the accustomed way. This may develop to an extreme over months or years (sometimes termed negative symptoms).

Alternatively, the person may develop elaborate constructions to interpret the world, as they see it, which may reflect matters that are only in their mind (sometimes termed productive or positive symptoms, that, in the extreme, can take the form of delusions or auditory hallucinations)". (Schizophrenia: A Background Sketch web (1). htm) People who suffer from schizophrenia may have a very broad range of symptoms which can cause great distress to themselves and their families. These symptoms can take many forms including: o 'Positive symptoms' (abnormal experiences), such as hallucinations (seeing, hearing, feeling something that isn't actually there), delusions (false and usually strange beliefs) and paranoia (unrealistic fear) o 'Negative symptoms' (absence of normal behaviour), such as emotional withdrawal, and lack of motivation and enjoyment o Cognitive dysfunction (problems with concentration, learning abilities and memory) The lifetime risk of someone suffering from schizophrenia is about 1%, and most people first experience symptoms between the ages of 15 and 35 years". Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of all populations develop schizophrenia during their lifetime. In the vast majority of cases, onset of the illness occurs between the ages of 15 and 25, making schizophrenia the single biggest cause of permanent disability starting in youth.

Schizophrenia causes around 10 percent of patients to suicide, usually before the age of 30. This makes the illness a major cause of youth suicide, and responsible for more deaths than AIDS, SIDS and MS combined". (NISAD: A Schizophrenia Research, What Is Schizophrenia web ) The cause of schizophrenia is not known, but it is thought to involve many different factors: 1) It may be partly hereditary; in other words the genes that we inherit might be partly to blame 2) The other causes of the illness remain unknown, although it is thought that schizophrenia sufferers may have some parts of the brain that have not developed in exactly the normal way 3) Some believe that something that happens in the womb might cause schizophrenia many years later 4) Possibly there is an imbalance in the chemicals that the brain uses to send messages from one cell to another 5) An attack can be brought on by stress, although this is not the cause of schizophreniaCAUSESThe causes of schizophrenia are not known but several factors may play a role in the development of the condition: 1) Hereditary or not? Genetic Risk of Schizophrenia Familial Relationship Risk Identical twin affected 50%Fraternal twin affected 15%Sibling affected 10%One parent affected 15%Both parents affected 35%Second-degree relative affected 2-3%No affected relatives 1%General population 1%Source: Roberts, Leigh, & Weinberger (1993) (NISAD: A Schizophrenia Research, web ) As you can see, researchers in the past did see that schizophrenia runs in families. However, that was in 1993. Today, it has been established that over 90 percent of cases arise in families with no known medical history of mental disorders. .".. but for a large number of people who fall ill in this way there are no indicators of a 'familial contribution'.

Even in familial cases, the contribution seems likely to arise from a number of features, each of which only makes the person vulnerable, if other things go wrong. These other things could include the person's perception of intermittent and long-lasting stress. Much research is being carried out at the moment into those features that may have adversely affected the development of the brain ('neuro development') in patients who later had schizophrenia". (Schizophrenia: A Background Sketch web (1). htm) Also, from the NISAD website, It states that, "Schizophrenia can affect any family and in most cases arises where there is no previous history of the illness". Thus, to assume that schizophrenia is directly caused by genes in a familial relationship is too broad and general.

2) Brain Development The darker staining of ACC tissue indicates more glutamate receptors in the schizophrenia sample on the right compared to the control. Image courtesy of Dr Katerina Zavitsanou, NISAD Neurobiology Research Panel. Composite brain images from normal and schizophrenia affected brains display differences. Image courtesy of Paul Raster, NISAD Cognitive Neuroscience Research Panel.

Here, it shows how the brain develops differently for people with Schizophrenia. Despite the differences seen", [Such as] abnormalities in brain structure (for example, enlargement of the fluid-filled cavities called the ventricles in the interior of the brain, and decreased size of certain brain regions) or function (for example, decreased metabolic activity in certain brain regions) " (NISAD). These detailed differences are not consistent with all patients diagnosed with Schizophrenia. However, "Microscopic studies of brain tissue after death have also shown small changes in distribution or number of brain cells in people with schizophrenia. It appears that many (but probably not all) of these changes are present before an individual becomes ill, and schizophrenia may be, in part, a disorder in development of the brain". (NISAD) 3) Birth Trauma.".. occasionally accidental events that affect development (e. g., the mother catching influenza [but not other illnesses] in late pregnancy) " (Schizophrenia: A Background Sketch web (1). htm) shows how birth trauma can affect a child to be prone to Schizophrenia.

"In addition, factors such as prenatal difficulties like intrauterine starvation or viral infections, perinatal complications, and various nonspecific stressor's, seem to influence the development of schizophrenia". (NISAD) Both these sources show that birth complications might influence the tendencies of Schizophrenia. 4) Abnormal Brain Chemistry " Neurotransmitters (substances that allow communication between nerve cells) have long been thought to be involved in the development of schizophrenia. It is likely, although not yet certain, that the disorder is associated with some imbalance of the complex, interrelated chemical systems of the brain, perhaps involving the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate. This area of research is promising". (NISAD) According to a research, it states that, .".. cognitive functions could be achieved include those long range connections within and between cortical regions that activate synaptic channels via NMDA-receptors, and which control gain through their voltage-dependent mode of operation.

An impairment of these mechanisms is central to PCP-Psychosis, and the cognitive capabilities that they could provide are impaired in some form of Schizophrenia. We conclude that impaired cognitive coordination due to reduced ion flow through N DMA-channels is involved in Schizophrenia. (Convergence of Biological and Psychological Perspectives of Cognitive Coordination in Schizophrenia, Phillips, William A. and Silverstein, Steven M. Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2003) 26,000-000) In another article, researcher McKnight of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, states that, "when they examined the brains of the psychotic mice, they found abnormally low levels of a protein called reel in. Reel in is important in the embryonic development of the brain and later in life to brain cell signaling. Other studies of people who died with schizophrenia have found reduced levels of reel in in their brains".

(Genes Unravel Mystery of Schizophrenia, reuters, 31 August 2004 web 1188741. htm). Thus it does show that Schizophrenia is related to abnormal brain chemistry. As we all can see, the causes of schizophrenia is not linked to just one factor. It is in fact a combination of factors inter playing. Due to the complexity of schizophrenia, it is difficult for researchers to pinpoint a cause of schizophrenia. However, the advancement of technology has indeed allowed us to come closer and gaining more knowledge about it.

SYMPTOMS person with schizophrenia may have a variety of symptoms which can be very distressing for them and their families. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be classed as positive or negative symptoms. Positive symptoms reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions and negative symptoms reflect a decrease in normal functions. Positive symptoms include: o Hallucinations (changes in the senses, such as hearing voices or seeing unusual things that are not there) o Delusions (bizarre fixed beliefs that are not based in reality, for example, believing that one's thoughts are being controlled by an external force) o Paranoia (feeling fearful that others are plotting against you) o Disordered thinking Negative symptoms include: o Loss of energy o Loss of abilities or motivation o Emotional withdrawal People with schizophrenia may also have a lack of concentration and learning difficulties also known as cognitive symptoms. (sources from SCHIZOPHRENIA.

COM web ) Schizophrenia has three phases: 1. Acute phase: during this phase, patients experience severe positive symptoms; negative symptoms may also become more severe. 2. Stabilization phase: acute positive symptoms become less severe. This phase may last for 6 months or longer, following the onset of an acute episode. 3.

Stable phase: symptoms are relatively stable and in some cases may even go away entirely. Some patients have very few symptoms while others may experience symptoms such as tension, anxiety, depression or insomnia. DIAGNOSIS There is no definitive test for diagnosing schizophrenia. Diagnosis is made by considering a person's: o Family history o Emotional history o Current symptoms o Presence of other mental illness (differential diagnosis) As symptoms may go unrecognized or are not obvious until the illness has reached an advanced stage, the diagnosis of schizophrenia can be very difficult. It may take a long time, as doctors usually wait to see the pattern and recurrence of symptoms. Differential diagnosis involves distinguishing the symptoms of schizophrenia from those of other mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder.

Some brain disorders, such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) also produce schizophrenia-like symptoms and must be ruled out. Drug abuse may also cause some symptoms which are similar to those of schizophrenia, for example delusions, hallucinations and unusual behavior. TREATMENT Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that requires treatment in order to help the individual to lead as normal a life as possible. It usually develops very gradually over a period of several months or years, so that the person with the illness and his or her family do not realize that there is anything wrong for a long time. Sometimes, the illness has a rapid onset, resulting in dramatic changes in behavior over a few weeks or even a few days. There are many potential outcomes of schizophrenia.

Some people only have one episode of schizophrenia and recover fully while others have several attacks throughout their lives. Some people may need lifelong care and support. Unfortunately, schizophrenia cannot be cured. Treatment usually consists of antipsychotic therapy, counseling, family support and rehabilitation. Medicines can help to control many of the symptoms. Most people with schizophrenia will need to take medicines for the rest of their lives.

BIBILOGRAPHY 1) Convergence of Biological and Psychological Perspectives of Cognitive Coordination in Schizophrenia, Phillips, William A. and Silverstein, Steven M. Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2003) 26,000-0002) Genes Unravel Mystery of Schizophrenia, reuters, 31 August 2004 web 1188741. htm 3) NISAD: A Schizophrenia Research, web) Schizophrenia: A Background Sketch web (1). htm 5) SCHIZOPHRENIA. COM web.