The fact that both twins wouldn’t always develop schizophrenia means that another factor must be involved, for example family environment. Too much or too little of a particular neurotransmitter may produce psychological disorders. For example, an increased level of dopamine is linked to schizophrenia, and drugs like cocaine, which increase dopamine levels, can lead to schizophrenia like problems. Also, depression can be effectively managed and often treated with drugs that manage serotonin levels in the brain. However, Watson et al found that low serotonin levels may in fact be due to environmental factors.
This suggest that depression must be passed on through genes if there is a high concordance rate between twins which share the same genetic makeup both having depression. However, biological factors such as the amine hypothesis states that if amines such as serotonin and noradrenalin become unbalanced, they can lead to depression. PET scans support this idea as they show that low levels of serotonin are present in people that are depressed. Other supporting evidence is that drugs such as MAOI’s, which work by increasing the available amount of noradrenalin in the brain, were found to be effective in alleviating the symptoms of depression. A problem with this is that it doesn’t state whether it is cause or effect.
There appears to be a tendency for schizophrenia to run in families. This suggests that genes play a role. Gottesman found that schizophrenia is more common among biological relatives of a person with schizophrenia and also that the closer the degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk. Gottesman conducted family studies and showed that when both parent are schizophrenic the children have a 46% concordance rate, however, if only one parent had it, it dropped to 16% and dropped to a further 1% when the sibling of the child had schizophrenia. This suggests that a genetic factor is involved.
Essay Plan Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia 1. Describe in some detail the genetic factors- family studies- Gottesman found that schizophrenia is more common among biological relatives of a person with schizophrenia and also that the closer the degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk. For instance, children with 2 schizophrenic parents have a concordance rate of 46%, children of one schizophrenic parent 13% and siblings 9%. Although this could be due to common rearing patterns or other factors not relating to heredity. Twin studies- Joseph calculated concordance rates of 40.4% for MZ twins and 7.4% for DZ twins.
TASK 1 (P1/M1) outline biological and psychological explanations for mental disorders. there are many biological and psychological explanations to explain the reasons behind mental disorders. here below are a few reasons/explanations for mental disorders: BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS: · genetics: : Many mental illnesses run in families, suggesting that people who have a family member with a mental illness are more likely to develop one themselves. · infections: Certain infections have been linked to brain damage and the development of mental illness or the worsening of its symptoms[->0]. · brain defects or injury: Defects in or injury to certain areas of the brain have also been linked to some mental illnesses.
of depression or schizophrenia. According to the biological model, the presence of certain genes can predispose people to psychological disorders. In other words, certain genes can make people more vulnerable to disorders. Twin and family studies have confirmed that some mental illnesses run in families. In terms of biochemistry, chemical imbalances in the brain may be involved in certain mental illnesses.
However the explanation if reductionist as it claims that the disorder is just due to genetics which is clearly not true. 2/3 of schizophrenics do not have a relative also with the illness. This means that the genetic argument cannot prove why they have the disorder and all other areas of biology are ignored. Another explanation of schizophrenia is Biochemistry. This is described by the dopamine hypothesis which states that schizophrenia is due to a high density and a high level of sensitivity of dopamine receptors.
Another big theoretical view is the dopamine theory much research has been done on the neurotransmitter dopamine. According to the dopamine theory, people with schizophrenia use an abundance of dopamine, although they may not make more of it. Researchers suggest that people with schizophrenia have a large concentration of dopamine at the synapses in the brain, this maybe linked to the confusion that characterizes people with schizophrenia. Treatment for schizophrenic symptoms varies from patient to patient depending on how bad a persons schizophrenic symptom are, but the normal for people with mild schizophrenia is counseling and therapy plus medications that help control the symptoms. Some other forms of treatment is rehab, and family therapy also other people suffering from the same disorder also sometimes hospitalization is required to make sure that the medication works and the symptoms will go away.
Paranoia, delusional thinking, affective flattering, and possible disorganization of the thought process are all symptoms of schizophrenia. Author, Elizabeth A. Richter, believes that people with schizophrenia can choose to cure themselves. Elizabeth A. Richter claims that 25% of people with schizophrenia will recover spontaneously without therapy. Some reliability that the author has is being that she was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her experiences are personal and she uses a few famous people who suffered from the disease as examples as well.
(Mental Health America) The biological factor responsible is yet unknown, however scientists believe the illness has a biological cause involving some type of disturbance in the brain. (Mueser, Jeste, V., 2008) This idea is based on the most widely accepted biological theory known as Dopamine Hypothesis. An imbalance in the neurotransmitter dopamine is believed to exist in schizophrenia. Dopamine is known to be an important neurotransmitter that controls thoughts and feelings, both of which are disturbed in schizophrenia. The imbalance of these chemicals affects the way a person’s brain responds to stimuli, which would explain why a person with schizophrenia might be overwhelmed by sensory information (loud music or bright lights), which other people can easily cope with.