Carlson et al. (2000)

Question 1

what was Carlson’s aim ?

Answer 1

to conduct a literary review to further develop the dopamine hypothesis

Question 2

what did Carlson hypothesise ?

Answer 2

he believed that glutamate and GABA both play a contributing role in schizophrenia

Question 3

what is PCP ?

Answer 3

• it is an antagonist of NDMA

- it blocks glutamate from binding to its receptor sites

Question 4

what is NDMA ?

Answer 4

It is the receptor site for glutamate

Question 5

where does glutamate come from?

Answer 5

• it lives in the meso-limbic pathway

- it is also present in the meso-cortisol pathway

Question 6

what does glutamate do ?

Answer 6

• glutamate’s job is to control other neurotransmitters
• it tries to break down dopamine to slow down its uptake
• in the meso-cortisol pathway, dopamine is slower and so glutamate has to speed it up

Question 7

what does hypoglutaminergia trigger?

Answer 7

hyperdopaminergia

Question 8

what does GABA do ?

Answer 8

• it helps glutamate reign in dopamine if there is too much of it
• sometimes there is a signal failure though and GABA doesn’t receive glutamate’s message for help

Question 9

validity of Carlson ?

Answer 9

• analysed secondary data - may not know the quality of the research and may reduce the validity

Question 10

competing argument of Carlson’s validity ?

Answer 10

• 14/33 of the studies used were his own

- this improves the validity as he knows that his are high quality

Question 11

objectivity of Carlson ?

Answer 11

• the research that he analysed had used SPECT and PET Scans
• by using scientific technology, it makes the results more objective
• this is because there is no researcher bias

Question 12

what did Carlson find in relation to schizophrenic medication ?

Answer 12

• schizophrenic patients in remission would complain of parkinsonian symptoms - which was a result of the drugs they were taking that reduce dopamine
• Carlson found that low levels of glutamate trigger higher levels of dopamine

Question 13

give two examples of parkinsonian symptoms ?

Answer 13

• tremors

- shaking

Question 14

how can Carlson’s findings be applied to schizophrenic medication ?

Answer 14

• shifting focus from dopamine to glutamate and GABA
• e.g., drugs that focus on pre-synaptic neuron rather than post-synaptic neuron so that levels of dopamine can be controlled without causing hypodopaminergia

Question 15

why could the new applications improve patient compliance ?

Answer 15

if the new drugs do not cause parkinsonian symptoms then patients will be more likely to take them, as the side-effects will not be as bad