Kim Smith

Marci Campbell
Psychology 1010
September 30, 2015
Schizophrenia
Introduction:
Schizophrenia is defined as a psychotic disorder and is characterized by the
profound disruption of basic psychological processes; a distorted perception of
reality; altered or blunted emotion; and disturbances in thought, motivation, and
behavior (Schacter and colleagues, 2014, pg. 607). This paper will contain the
symptoms and diagnosis of Schizophrenia, a brief overview of the subtypes of
schizophrenia and treatments for the disorder.
Literature Review:
Those who have schizophrenia often experience hallucinations, delusions,
disorganized speech, and grossly disorganized behavior (Schacter and colleagues,
2009, pg. 608). According to the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DMS) the diagnosis is as follows:
Schizophrenia is a disturbance that lasts for at least 6 months and includes at
least 1 month of
Active-phase symptoms (i.e. two or more of the following: delusions,
hallucination, disorganized
speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms)
(DSM-IV, fourth edition,
American Psychiatric Association, 1994, pg. 273).
Genes, biochemical, brain abnormalities, and stressful home environment are
factors of causing schizophrenia. In the National Institute of Mental Health they
talked about how genes can cause schizophrenia:
the illness occurs in 1% of the general population, but occurs in 10% of
people who have a
first-degree relative with the disorder, such as a parent, brother or sister.
People who have
second-degree relatives (aunts, uncles, grandparents, or cousins) with the
disease also develop

schizophrenia more often than the general population. The risk is highest for
an identical twin
of a person with schizophrenia. He or she has a 40-65% chance of
developing the disorder
(NIMH, n.d).
The brain chemistry and structure play a role in diagnosing schizophrenia.
Those who have schizophrenia have enlarged ventricles in the brain. In our
textbooks (Schacter and colleagues, 2014, pg. 611) they state:
Neuroimaging studies provide evidence of a variety of brain abnormalities in
schizophrenia.
Paul Thompson and his colleagues (2001) examined changes in the brains of
adolescents whose
MRI scans could be traced sequentially from the once of schizophrenia. By
morphing the images
onto a standardized brain, the researchers were able to detect progressive
tissue loss beginning
in the parietal lobe and eventually encompassing much of the brain.
Some of the Schizophrenia subtypes:
The DSM-IV states (DMS; American Psychiatric Association, 1994, pg. 273-274):
Definitions for the Schizophrenia subtypes (Paranoid, Disorganized, Catatonic,
Undifferentiated,
and Residual). Schizophreniform Disorder is characterized by a
symptomatic presentation that
is equivalent to Schizophrenia except for its duration and the absence of a
requirement that
there be a decline in functioning. Schizoaffective Disorder is a disturbance
in which a mood
episode and the active-phase symptoms of Schizophrenia occur together and
were preceded or
are followed by at least 2 weeks of delusions or hallucinations without
prominent mood

symptoms. Delusional Disorder is characterized by at least 1 month of

non-bizarre delusions
without other active-phase symptoms of Schizophrenia. Brief Psychotic
Disorder is a psychotic
disturbance that last more than 1 day and remits by 1 month. Shared
Psychotic Disorder is a
disturbance that develops in an individual who is influenced by someone else
who has an
established delusion with similar content.
Treatment for schizophrenia is used with antipsychotic medication that is
usually in pill or liquid form. Some of the antipsychotic medications include:
Chlorpromazine, Haloperidol, Perhenazine, Fluphenazine, Risperidone, Olanzapine,
Quetiapine, Ziprasidone, Aripiprazole, and Paliperidone (NIMH, n.d). Symptoms of
schizophrenia, such as feeling agitated and having hallucination, usually go away
within days. Symptoms like delusions usually go away within a few weeks. After
about six week many people will see a lot of improvement. (NIMH, n.d)
Everyone responds differently to medications, some medications work better
and some dont work at all. Some people may have to try two or more different
medications before they find the best type, as well as the right dose.
Application:
My uncle was diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder when he was in his
early teens. He has hallucinations, night terrors, paranoia, delusions, and
disorganized speech. I remember when I was growing up that he would search the
house looking for microphones that the government had put in the house. He would
ask us to move things that werent there. He would wake up in the middle of the
night screaming that they were going to get him. He was able to keep and hold
down a very good job and made very good money, but had to quit because he
would have episodes of seeing and hearing things that werent there. His whole life
he said he was born in the wrong body. About 2 years ago he decided he wanted to
be female. That is when he and his wife separated; they were married for about 6
years. His Doctor is unsure if his gender crisis is part of his schizophrenia or if it is
another mental illness. He seems to be doing better as long as he stays on his
medications and keeps his therapy dog close by.
Conclusion:
While researching this topic I learned that schizophrenia occurs only in 1% of
the general population and occurs mostly within the family. I thought that the

general population number would be higher and it was interesting to see the
numbers in how common schizophrenia can be.
I would like to research the subtypes of schizophrenia more in depth. I
would like to see how common or uncommon each subtype is. I would also like to
know more about how the brain looks, with MRI scans, it would be interesting to see
the difference in the brains between those with the illness at different stages, ages,
and they type of schizophrenia and compare them to a brain that is normal.
I believe that this topic can help people understand more about what
schizophrenia is and get a better understanding of what happens. It helped me to
see what the criteria was in diagnosing the disease. It will also help people realize
that there are different types of schizophrenia and the difference between them.
While reading and learning about this topic it made me feel sympathetic
towards those who have the disease and see what they go though. I would like to
do more research on schizophrenia and learn about it more in depth and educate
people about the disease.

Reference Page

Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, Nock, 2014. Psychology (pp. 607, 608) . New York,
NY: Worth
Publishers.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, 1994.
Schizophrenia and Other
Psychotic Disorders (pp. 273, 274). American Psychiatric Association.
National Institute of Mental Health, n.d. Schizophrenia. Retrieved from
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml#part
_145431