Biological Explanations Of Schizophrenia Flashcards
What does the genetic explanation of schizophrenia look at?
Hereditary factors (i.e. genes) that contribute to the development of schizophrenia
What did Gottesman do?
Looked at how different familial relationships to someone with schizophrenia are linked with risk of developing schizophrenia
What did Gottesman find?
The closer the genetic the relationship to the person with schizophrenia, the greater the risk of developing schizophrenia. The concordance rate for MZ = 48%, and DZ = 17%
What is a strength of genetic explanations of schizophrenia? (Supporting evidence)
Many familial and twin studies support the explanation because they show that sharing similar genes to someone that has schizophrenia increases the likelihood of suffering from schizophrenia.
What is a strength of the genetic explanation of schizophrenia? (Multiple genes)
Ripke et al - Used more than 36,000 schizophrenic patients and found 108 different genetic variations that were correlated with schizophrenia
What is a limitation of the genetic explanation of schizophrenia? (Environmental factors)
Environmental factors (like mother smoking cannabis in teenage years & childhood trauma) can increase risk of developing schizophrenia. 67% of individuals with schizophrenia reported at least 1 childhood trauma (compared to 37% of a matched group without schizophrenia)
What was Tienari at al’s (1985) study?
Longitudinal study comparing adopted children whose bio mothers had schizophrenia with a control group of adoptees whose bio mothers didn’t have schizophrenia
What did Tienari et al find?
The children of schizophrenic mothers were more likely to develop schizophrenia compared to the controls - supports the role of genetics in the development of schizophrenia.
What is dopamine?
A neurotransmitter involved with initiating movement, which has a major role in reward motivated behaviour. It is believed to work differently in the brain of a patient with schizophrenia.
What did the original version of the dopamine hypothesis focus on?
Hyperdopamingeria in the subcortex - the possible role of high levels of dopamine in the central areas of the brain. E.g. an excess of dopamine receptors in Broca’s area may be associated with speech poverty & auditory hallucinations.
What does the most recent version of the dopamine hypothesis focus on?
Hypodopaminergia in the cortex - the possible role of low levels of dopamine in the brain’s cortex. E.g. low levels in the prefrontal cortex are associated with poor decision making
What is a strength of the dopamine hypothesis as an explanation for schizophrenia? (Effective drug treatment)
Leucht et al — meta-analysis of 212 studies that assessed the effectiveness of antipsychotics that targeted dopamine levels — results showed that antipsychotics were more effective than a placebo — shows dopamine is involved with schizophrenia
