Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia- Further Neural Correlates Flashcards
What are the 3 neural correlates of schizophrenia?
- Enlarged Ventricles
- The Ventral Striatum
- Temporal Gyrus
How does enlarged ventricles link to schizophrenia?
People with schizophrenia have abnormally large ventricles in the brain, meaning that the brains of schizophrenics are lighter than normal
How does the Ventral Striatum link to schizophrenia?
- Activity in the ventral striatum has been linked to the development of avolition
- The ventral striatum are believed to be particularly involved in the anticipation of a reward for certain actions
- Therefore, if there is abnormality in areas such as the ventral striatum, this would result in a lack of motivation
How does the Temporal Gyrus link to schizophrenia?
- Reduced activity in the superior temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus have been linked to the development of auditory hallucinations
- People experiencing auditory hallucinations showed lower activation levels in these areas.
- Therefore, reduced activity in these areas of the brain is a neural correlate of auditory hallucinations
If the point is:
A weakness of neural correlates as an explanation of schizophrenia is that it is hard to establish cause and effect.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- Cause and effect cannot be established with brain abnormality and it is still uncertain whether structural abnormalities with reduced functioning predispose to schizophrenia, or whether the onset of the clinician symptoms causes these changes.
Link- This could suggest that the explanation is limited, as it fails to consider certain aspects of the development of schizophrenia.
If the point is:
A weakness of neural correlates as an explanation of schizophrenia is that they are not exclusive to schizophrenia.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- Enlarged ventricles are not exclusive to schizophrenia, as they may occur in the brains of those that suffer from Parkinson’s disease and other disorders. Also, only some schizophrenic patients have enlarged ventricles, not all of them, and some ‘normal’ individuals have enlarged ventricles and never experience schizophrenia.
Link- This implies that the explanation is incomplete.
If the point is:
A weakness of neural correlates as an explanation of schizophrenia is that it is hard to figure out what actually causes these brain abnormalities.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- McEwen argues that nurturing influences could actually instigate these structural changes in the brain, making the explanation incomplete. Children and adolescent brains are far more sensitive to chronic stressors (such as prenatal stressors or physical abuse), which can reshape the structure and organisation of cortical regions, contributing to schizophrenia.
Link- This suggests that there may be other reasons for the onset of these abnormalities which are not discussed within the explanation.
If the point is:
A strength of neural correlates as a biological explanation of schizophrenia is that it is a scientific and falsifiable concept.
What is the explanation, evidence and link?
Explanation- The explanation is scientific due to the fact that brain stricture can be studied in a controlled, objective and falsifiable manner.
Evidence- For example studying the brain structures of schizophrenic patients by using MRI scans to identify enlarged ventricles. We can only use fMRI scans to observe brain activity within the frontal lobe to check for hypofrontality.
Link- This could imply that the explanation promotes psychology as a rigorous scientific subject which is worthy of higher levels of government funding.
