Table of Contents
What is the biological explanation for psychosis?
The basic biological dysregulation in psychosis is the hyperdopaminergic state in the mesolimbic pathways. This first component in the model alters the salience of percepts, weakens the influence of memories, and prompts the process of anomalous perceptions and hallucinations. Certain disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism fit the biological model in a very clear-cut sense, says Richard McNally, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Harvard University and author of the 2011 book What is Mental Illness? In these diseases, he says, structural and functional abnormalities … A number of factors have been proposed as being linked to schizophrenia: genetic, psychological, endocrinological, metabolic, environmental, virological, and auto-immunological factors, as well as neurotransmitter systems and structural disorders of the brain. Data from modern scientific research proves that schizophrenia is unequivocally a biological disease of the brain, just like Alzheimer’s Disease and Bipolar Disorder. For one thing, schizophrenia is now known to be partially caused by genetics and to be inherited. An example of the biological approach to psychology would be the fear response. The fear response gives way to fight, flight, or freeze behaviors. Which course of action an individual takes in the presence of a stressor relies on their biological make-up.
What is not a biological explanation for schizophrenia?
Cognitive explanations suggest that many symptoms of schizophrenia are caused by simple underlying problems with memory, perception and attention. Frith’s attention deficit theory suggests people with schizophrenia get overloaded by information because they can’t filter everything that’s happening around them. No single gene can cause schizophrenia. Research suggests that many different genes and their mutations could cause the condition to develop. If you already have a genetic risk of developing schizophrenia, it’s essential to be aware that being exposed to certain environmental factors could increase that risk. Association studies in schizophrenia suggest that schizophrenia is a complex multigenetic disorder. Many genes associated with the illness have been identified in the different studies. Each risk factor confers a small risk, with the genetic factors being the most potent. Risk factors are thought to be multiplicative. While parents and children share half of their genes, there is only a 6% chance that a child with a schizophrenic parent will develop schizophrenia. Another example is the risk of both identical twins developing schizophrenia.
What are biological causes of mental disorders?
Biological factors include genetics, prenatal damage, infections, exposure to toxins, brain defects or injuries, and substance abuse. Many professionals believe that the cause of mental disorders is the biology of the brain and the nervous system. Risk factors Having a family history of schizophrenia. Some pregnancy and birth complications, such as malnutrition or exposure to toxins or viruses that may impact brain development. Taking mind-altering (psychoactive or psychotropic) drugs during teen years and young adulthood. A number of factors have been proposed as being linked to schizophrenia: genetic, psychological, endocrinological, metabolic, environmental, virological, and auto-immunological factors, as well as neurotransmitter systems and structural disorders of the brain. any physical, chemical, genetic, or neurological condition associated with psychological disturbances. However, of these, the neurobiological theory is the predominant theory in explaining the etiology of schizophrenia. The neurobiological theory defines schizophrenia as a result of abnormal dysfunctions, or abnormal structures of the brain. One weakness of the genetic explanation of schizophrenia is that there are methodological problems. Family, twin and adoption studies must be considered cautiously because they are retrospective, and diagnosis may be biased by knowledge that other family members who may have been diagnosed.
What is the biochemical basis of schizophrenia?
Alterations of the dopamine system have been suggested in schizophrenia. This may be assessed as changes in levels of dopamine or its metabolites, or as changes in levels or activity of the mechanical components of the dopamine system, such as the receptors that receive dopamine, or the transporters that remove it. The most common theory about the cause of schizophrenia is that there are too many dopamine receptors in certain parts of the brain, specifically the mesolimbic pathway. 1 This causes an increase in mesolimbic activity which results in delusions, hallucinations, and other psychotic symptoms. Schizophrenia is caused by a chemical imbalance and other changes in the brain. It tends to run in families, but the environment may also play a role. While it affects men and women the same, symptoms tend to start earlier in men than in women. Biological treatments of schizophrenia primarily consist of neuroleptics. These drugs can be prescribed in a relatively standardized manner (chlorpromazine equivalent), but neuroleptics will be less than effective on the type of schizophrenia with negative symptoms.
Is there a genetic explanation for schizophrenia?
The more genes the person shares with the sufferer, the more likely they are to have the disorder, suggesting there may be a genetic basis for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is thought to be polygenic, with lots of different genes contributing to an increased risk of developing it. Association studies in schizophrenia suggest that schizophrenia is a complex multigenetic disorder. Many genes associated with the illness have been identified in the different studies. Each risk factor confers a small risk, with the genetic factors being the most potent. Risk factors are thought to be multiplicative. A large Danish study of twins found that schizophrenia is about 79% heritable. In other words, 79% of the risk of developing schizophrenia is due to genetic factors. Schizophrenia is associated with changes in the structure and functioning of a number of key brain systems, including prefrontal and medial temporal lobe regions involved in working memory and declarative memory, respectively. Nevertheless, the biological explanation is highly scientific whereas the psychological approach has little scientific elements. This may indicate that the biological reason for the disorder is more trustworthy as our ability to observe genes, brain structure and dopamine levels provides strong supporting evidence. Highly stressful or life-changing events may sometimes trigger schizophrenia. These can include: being abused or harassed. losing someone close to you.
What is the biological theory of schizophrenia GCSE?
The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia proposes that this mental illness is caused by high levels of dopamine. The theory states that the dopamine system is overactive, therefore dopaminergic neurons transmit signals more often than normal, which leads to high levels of dopamine binding to receptors. The authors hypothesize that schizophrenia is characterized by abnormally low prefrontal dopamine activity (causing deficit symptoms) leading to excessive dopamine activity in mesolimbic dopamine neurons (causing positive symptoms). Dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in the pathology of schizophrenia. The revised dopamine hypothesis states that dopamine abnormalities in the mesolimbic and prefrontal brain regions exist in schizophrenia. A number of factors have been proposed as being linked to schizophrenia: genetic, psychological, endocrinological, metabolic, environmental, virological, and auto-immunological factors, as well as neurotransmitter systems and structural disorders of the brain. While schizophrenia is clearly a neurological disorder like stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and others – schizophrenia is still classified as a mental illness.