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SCHIZOPHRENIA:DESCRIBTION AND SYMPTOMS

ADA TURAN

220304072

Department of Psychology, Antalya Bilim University

PSYC-102: Introduction to Psychology II

MELİS SÜNGÜ

May,29,2024
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Introduction

Schizophrenia is a genetic and neurological brain disorder that effect people what

feel or think. This disease can occur because of environmental factors Schizophrenia

makes people’s lives harder because when individuals become a schizophrenic, they

lose the connection with the reality. Symptoms of schizophrenia prevent people to

attend daily activities. Schizophrenics mostly believe that the world in their brain and

hallucination they see. As such, patient can believe that FBI follow himself or see one

while adding poison in his tea. There are five types of schizophrenia which are

paranoid, catatonic, undifferentiated, residual and disorganized. Also, schizophrenia

has negative and cognitive symptoms. According to the World Health Organization,

the prevalence of schizophrenia worldwide is approximately 1%. However, among

blood relatives who are in schizophrenia areas, the incidence of these mental illnesses

is higher than in the general population.

Paranoid Schizophrenia: This is the most common type of schizophrenia. It’s

symptoms involve hallucinations and/or delusions, but your speech and

emotions may not be affected.

Catatonic Schizophrenia: This is the rarest schizophrenia diagnosis, characterized

by unusual, limited and sudden movements. You may often switch between being

very active or very still. You may not talk much, and you may mimic others’ speech

and movement.
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Undifferentiated Schizophrenia: Undifferentiated schizophrenia is a sub-type of

schizophrenia. Symptoms may include signs of psychosis, such as delusions and

hallucinations, or drastic changes in behavior, speech, or mobility. However, the

current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) does not list it

as a separate diagnosis.

Residual schizophrenia: You may be diagnosed with residual schizophrenia if

you have a history of psychosis, but only experience the negative symptoms (such as

slow movement, poor memory, lack of concentration and poor hygiene).

Disorganized Schizophrenia: A person who is experiencing disorganized

schizophrenia symptoms may show any of the following: Problems with routine tasks

like dressing, bathing, and brushing teeth. Showing emotions that are not appropriate

to the situation.

Negative symptoms: Loss of motivation, loss of interest or pleasure in daily

activities, withdrawal from social life, difficulty with movement, and difficulty with

normal functioning.

Cognitive Symptoms: It includes problems with attention, concentration and

memory. These symptoms can make it difficult to follow a conversation, learn new

things, or remember appointments.

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Mapping DNA Methylation Across Development, Genotype, and

Schizophrenia in the Human Frontal Cortex

A team from the Lieber Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of

Medicine conducted genetic and transcriptional analyzes of schizophrenia. The study

examined how changes in DNA translate into changes in RNA expression by

identifying schizophrenia risk genes, gene traits, and gene networks. One of the key

findings of the research is that the risk of schizophrenia is associated with reduced

expression of the DRD2 gene, whose short isoform encodes the presynaptic auto-

receptor. This can result in inadequate control of the release of dopamine in the brain,

resulting in excess dopamine being released for long periods of time. This finding

supports the long-posited hypothesis of dopamine as one of the main causes of

psychosis in schizophrenia. In conclusion, this study provides a significant advance at

the genetic and molecular level to better understand the role of dopamine in

schizophrenia. The study, conducted by the Lieber Institute for Brain Development on

443 people, aimed to understand the genetic and environmental contributions of

schizophrenia. This study, which focused specifically on the caudate nucleus region

of the brain, revealed important findings.

Genetic Factors: The study identified many new genes associated with

schizophrenia. An important discovery is that reduced expression of the short isoform

of the DRD2 gene is linked to an increased risk of schizophrenia. This gene

encodesthe presynaptic autoreceptor, which controls the release of dopamine.

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This suggests that inadequate control of dopamine release may increase the risk of

schizophrenia.

Environmental Factors: The study highlights the important role of prenatal

environmental factors. Environmental influences in the prenatal period have been

found to cause brain changes associated with schizophrenia through mechanisms such

as DNA methylation. This contradicts the conventional view that environmental

factors in early adulthood are important in the development of schizophrenia

symptoms.

Interaction of Genetic and Environmental Factors: Researchers who analyzed

DNA methylation patterns concluded that the interaction of genetic predispositions

and prenatal environmental influences is critical in shaping the brain changes that

contribute to the development of schizophrenia. It has been stated that the critical time

when environmental factors exert their effects is the prenatal period, which is

different from the early adulthood period.

Role of the Placenta: Another important finding is the role of the placenta in

mediating genetic risk. Genes associated with schizophrenia have been found to affect

placental function and negatively affect the exchange of nutrients between mother and

fetus. This finding highlights the placenta as a major player in the developmental
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origins of schizophrenia and suggests that it has important implications for prenatal

health and early interventions.

Conclusion

Schizophrenia is a genetic and environmental disorder. It has different types of

symptoms and there are several kind of schizophrenia. Also, you learned it has a very

low rate worldwide. Lastly, I mentioned a research about schizophrenia in the human

frontal cortex. You see that both genetic factors and prenatal environmental influences

are vital in understanding schizophrenia. These findings open up new avenues for

early detection and preventive strategies, and highlight the importance of focusing on

prenatal health to reduce the risk of schizophrenia. In the study, the hypotheses were

examined in great detail and comprehensively, but different periods could have been

examined without focusing only on the prenatal period as an environmental factor. I

think in the future, more psychological research should be done rather than focusing

on so many biological causes.

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References

Jaffe AE., Hyde TM., Kleinman JE., & Weinberger DR. (2015). Mapping DNA

methylation across development, genotype, and schizophrenia in the human

frontal cortex. Nat Neurosci, 19(1), 40-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4181

Courtenay M., & Harding, Ph.D. (1988). Course types in schizophrenia: an analysis

of European and American studies. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 16(4), 633-643.

https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/14.4.633

Benjamin, K. J. M., Chen, Q., Jaffe. et al. (2022). Researchers map the genetic

landscape of schizophrenia in the brain. Nature Neuroscience, 25, 1559-1568.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-022-01182-7
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