SCHIZOPHRENIA SCHIZOPHRENIA IS A BRAIN DISORDER THAT IS

SCHIZOPHRENIA • SCHIZOPHRENIA IS A BRAIN DISORDER THAT IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN ABNORMAL SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND IT AFFECTS THE WAY A PERSON THINKS AND PERCEIVES THE WORLD AS A WHOLE. • PERSONS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA ARE UNABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS NOT AND THEY OFTEN HAVE AN ALTERED PERCEPTION OF THE REALITY.

Describe the general behaviors associated with the disorder Some of the general behaviors/abnormalities include the following: Delusions Hallucinations Disorganized speech Abnormal behavior Negative symptoms; absence of normal behaviors found in healthy individuals

Cont. Delusions are usually beliefs that are maintained and do not change even with a conflicting evidence. Hallucinations are the sounds or other sensations which are experienced as real when they exist only in the person’s mind. Disorganized speech individuals have trouble with concentrating and may respond to questions with very unrelated answers. They may start sentences with one topic and end with a different one. They may speak incoherently and/or say illogical things. Disorganized behaviour- disrupts a person’s goal directed activity and cause impairments in their ability to work or take care of anything, including themselves.

Negative Symptoms Avolition is the decrease in self-initiated purposeful activities. The individual will show little or no interest in participating in work or certain social activities. Alogia can be seen by a diminished speech output by an individual. Anhedonia is the reduced ability to experience certain pleasures especially from a positive stimuli. Asociality refers to the lack of interest in many social interactions, this is associated with Avolition.

Explain how biological influences play a role. Some of the biological influences include; Hormones - an increase of dopamine release may be associated with the manifestations of certain behaviours which are associated with schizophrenia. Neural systems - are the long - tract pathways that are found between the frontal cortex and sub cortical areas. Here, the basal ganglia and thalamus influences the function of the frontal cortex. These two are usually responsible for characteristics of schizophrenia.

Are there biological reasons an individual may exhibit behaviors related to the disorder? Genetics - the more closely one is related to an individual with schizophrenia the more likely the risk of contracting the disorder. Pre natal factors - catastrophic events especially during the second semester of pregnancy are risk factors for development of schizophrenia

Describe how altered states of consciousness related to sleep, psychoactive drugs, or meditation and hypnosis affect individuals with the disorder. Substance use of certain drugs can contribute to the disorder. Drugs such as cannabis can be a contributing factor, causing the disease in those who are already at a risk. Sleep - the person’s sleeping hours will tend to be less regular. It may occur at any time of the day or night rather than the usual 7 -8 hours at night like most people. Meditation affects the individuals positively. It can be used to reduce their anxiety and lower the occurrence of the disorder related behaviours.

Describe how the disorder could affect memory. Every important act of our daily activities requires the ability to remember related past events, or the episodic memory. Persons with schizophrenia usually have pronounced memory impairments which usually compromises their daily living skills and activities

Provide a brief description of any biological influences on the memory of individuals with this disorder. Their long-term memory which is involved with the acquisition and recalling of new information may be impaired at very critical levels. They also show reduced mental speed and have a lower reaction time. This pattern implicates the frontal-temporal regions and their connections and/ or interactions

Are there any memory distortions commonly involved with the disorder? Patients with schizophrenia usually exhibit a deficit in their memory. These deficits are shown from the very earliest stages of the illness and cannot be explained as a side effect of pharmacotherapy. This is because the available treatments have relatively little or no effect on these cognitive impairments they experience.

Psychodynamic theory in explaining Schizophrenia According to Freud, Personality is shaped as the drives which are modified by the different conflicts at the different times in childhood. According to the psychodynamic approach, abnormality is mainly caused when the trauma from an unresolved conflict between the id, ego, and superego is repressed to unconscious level which causes regression to an earlier stage of the psychosexual development.

Cont. Fixation and regression suggest that the ego is not quite developed and so the individual may be dominated by the id and/or the superego But because the ego is weak the individual will lack a sound basis in the reality. The psychodynamic explanation suggests that most of the patients experienced a very difficult childhood environment, mainly as a result of their parents being cold and not supportive.

Social learning theory in explaining Schizophrenia Social learning theory suggests that personality is acquired from the environment through the process of observational learning. Stressful life events such as financial burdens or trauma may trigger schizophrenia Studies found that the patients showed more intense negative emotional reactions to daily hassles. This suggests that these emotional reactions make patients with recent major life events more susceptible to a relapse.

Evaluate the effectiveness of at least two therapies used to treat the disorder. Cognitive Remediation: This is a form of behavioural treatment which uses paper-and-pencil activities and exercises that aims to help patients be able to strengthen and develop their existing cognitive skills and also develop new and effective strategies for managing their problems with attention, memory, planning, and also organization. It is a very effective and reduces the chances of negative symptoms from showing up.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Psychotherapy: it involves sessions between the patient and a therapist on a regular basis, and focuses on the past and/or current feelings, their problems, thoughts, and their relationships. Therefore, through an interaction with a trained professional, the patients are able to understand more about their illness, learn about themselves and how to handle the problems they face in their daily lives. They become better at differentiating between what is real and what is not. It is quite effective because patients can acquire beneficial problem solving skills.

References American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5 th ed. ). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing Hirsch SR; Weinberger. DR (2003). Schizophrenia. Wiley. Blackwell. Jakobsen KD, Frederiksen JN, Hansen T, et al. (2005). "Reliability of clinical ICD-10 schizophrenia diagnoses". Nordic Journal of Psychiatry Owen, MJ; Sawa, A; Mortensen, PB (14 January 2016). "Schizophrenia. ". Lancet (London, England)