biological explanations Flashcards
what are genetic explanations
twin and family studies
may run in genes
what did Gottesman (1991) study
genetic
the more genetically related to someone you are, the higher chance of getting schiz
MZ - 48%.
DZ - 17%
general population - 1%
what did Kety and Ingraham (1992) study
found schizophrenia rates were 10x higher among genetic rather than adoptive relatives
what is neural correlates
dopamine hypothesis
structural differences
what is the dopamine hypothesis
says dopamine is responsible for schiz
dopamine is excitatory, that transits messages in neurons
work’s differently in schiz brains
too much dopamine leads to schizophrenia
treatments try and reduce dopamine
what did davis et al (1991) find
high levels of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathways (hyperdopaminergia) leads to positive symptoms
low levels of dopamine in the mesocortical pathways (hypodopaminergia) leads to negative symptoms
what is hyperdopaminergia
high dopamine levels in mesolimbic area
what is hypodopaminergia
low dopamine levels in the mesocortical area
what are structural differences
schizophrenics may have brain abnormalities
research was based on post mortems but now uses scanning techniques
could be genetic or due to schiz, so patients are compared with non schizo family members
what did allen et al (2007) study
scanned patients with positive symptoms and found low levels of activation in the superior temporal gyrus and other anterior cingulate gyrus of schizos
what are weaknesses of structural differences theory
not all schizophrenics respond to medication or have brain abnormalities
environment can affect brain structure
no longitudinal evidence
