Biological explanation of schizophrenia NT Flashcards
A neurotransmitter is
A chemical which carries messages between nerve cells
Which is the main neurotransmitter linked to Schizophrenia?
Dopamine
The orignal hypothesis said the levels of Dopamine in the synpase are…
Too high/too much activity at the receptor sites (hyper dopaminergia)
Why does the neurotransmitter level cause problems for people with Schizophrenia
There is too much action in the synapse/too many signals/too much activity
Which receptor is usually the one linked to Schizophrenia
D2
What is happening in the mesolimbic system?
Too much Dopamine (hyperdopaminergia), causes positive symptoms
What is happening in the mesocortical system?
Too little Dopamine (hypodopaminergia), causes negative symptoms
What else is tied to Schizophrenia as it controls Dopamine levels
Glutamate
What is the effect of this neurotransmitter on Dopamine?
Lower levels (hypoglutamatergia) lead to an increase in Dopamine
An increase in which other Neurotransmitter has been linked to both positive and negative symptoms
Serotonin
What did Carlsson find?
dopamine, glutamate and serotonin are all implicated in the development of schizophrenia showing that neurotransmitters can explain the development of Schizophrenia (but it isn’t just Dopamine)
What did the Liverpool universty study find?
found that childhood trauma makes you three times more likely to develop schizophrenia, suggesting that there is a strong relationship between the environment and the development of schizophrenia and it is not just due to neurotransmitters.
What did the Lindstroem study find?
found that schizophrenics used L-DOPA faster than the control group, suggesting they were producing more dopamine at a quicker rate, and the excess dopamine can explain how schizophrenia is caused
What did the Depatie & Lal study find?
found that giving people drugs that increase their production of dopamine does not create the symptoms of schizophrenia as would be expected if excess dopamine caused it, so it is not the only explanation of the causes of schizophrenia.
What did the Seeman study find?
they have a higher number of D2 receptors
Why is this a useful theory?
It has lead to drug treatments which work to lower symptoms- suggesting that this theory is credible
What is a problem in suggesting the drugs ‘prove’ this theory correct?
The drugs don’t work for everyone and don’t act instantaneously
Which of these is true and suggests the dopamine theory is valid/credible?
Amphetamines raise Dopamine levels and causes similar ‘symptoms’ to Schizophrenia
What is an issue with using Amphetamines as evidence?
They only cause the positive symptoms so don’t provide a complete explanation
What is a strength of using a biological explanation to describe Schizophrenia?
Empirical- you can measure neurotransmitters directly
A weakness of saying neurotransmitters cause schizophrenia is?
It has issues with cause and effect as most of the research is correlational
Why might genetics be a better explanation?
Genetics provide an underlying cause to explain why the neurotransmitters are different- giving better cause and effect
Why is this theory reductionist?
It ignores environmental factors like early childhood expereicnes influencing cognitive processes
