Aetiology Of Schizophrenia Essay

Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder in which the patient experiences an abnormal disjunction from reality. Common symptoms include false beliefs, bewildered thought processes and hallucinations. This essay aims to provide progress in the interpretation of the disorder. The diagnosis of schizophrenia is an unstable process in psychiatry; therefore, a discussion of the DSM-V diagnostic methods has been included. The possible aetiology of the disorder is further developed as factors of heredity, physiology and environment are explored. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a prevalent precursor in South Africa is also included. An integrated understanding of the western biomedical treatment of schizophrenia is briefly analysed. In a culturally

The DSM-V method of schizophrenia classification uses the incorporation of the patient’s own self-reported experiences as well as reported behavioural abnormalities and mental health assessment by a trained psychiatric professional. The DSM-V diagnosis of schizophrenia has proposed the removal of the five subtypes listed in the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic manual. These subtypes are catatonia, paranoid, disorganized, residual and undifferentiated type schizophrenia. The DSM-V diagnosis has additionally eliminated the need for special attention towards Schneider's first-rank symptoms. The dominant symptoms focused around auditory hallucinations and hallucinatory subtypes. It is evident that schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder which is characterized by a distinct disjuncture from reality and requires the skilled diagnostic tools of the DSM-V for optimal prognosis. The aetiology of schizophrenia is complex, thus different research approaches to schizophrenia have evolved conflicting etiological theories, the vast majority of

Lenzenweger & Gottesman proved the plausibility of this hypothesis by determining that if one identical twin (twins share an identical genome) becomes schizophrenic, the other twin has a 48% chance of being diagnosed as schizophrenic. Fraternal twins only have a 17% of being schizophrenic if their twin is a schizophrenic (Mitterer, 2009). Heredity is, therefore, a feasible contributing factor to schizophrenia and the diagnosis of which. With respect to physiological aetiology, the vast majority of research points to schizophrenia being caused by hyperactivity in the brain’s dopamine system. This results in the flood of unrelated thoughts, hallucinations and disconnection from a rational reality. A second aspect to this theory is that the dopamine receptors become excessively receptive towards this neurotransmitter. A layman’s interpretation of schizophrenia may be likened to the body producing its own psychedelic drug exploit. A second neurotransmitter under scientific investigation is glutamate, which is altered by stress levels. Glutamate has the function of controlling emotional and sensory information in the brain. It appears that hypo-function of glutamate