Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that affects nearly 1% of all Canadians (((((CMHA))))). It affects the way people perceive and interact with the world around them and can dissociate them from reality. There is still debate over what causes schizophrenia but it is believed that there is a strong genetic link. There is also debate and confusion over how it affects the brain which makes it difficult to treat and it is still without a cure((((((APA)))))). There are several different types of schizophrenia with a variety of signs and symptoms. The different types of schizophrenia include catatonic, paranoid, disorganized, undifferentiated and residual. Catatonic schizophrenia is characterized by signs of social withdrawal such as being mute, negative, physically rigid and the inability to take care or one’s personal needs((((MHA)))). Paranoid schizophrenia can result in delusions about …show more content…
A study by the University of Iowa did show that people that have had a schizophrenic episode had less brain tissue than healthy individuals, specifically in the frontal and temporal lobes((((UIOWA)))). Other studies looking at brain imaging have found that the ventricles are typically enlarged in schizophrenic patients((((((PSYCH BOOK)))). This would contribute to having less brain tissue as the ventricles occupy more space in the frontal and temporal region. These findings relate to the symptoms as the frontal lobe is responsible for personality and many of the symptoms would come from it being abnormal. This is the only physiological relationship to schizophrenia that has been found but it is not used in the diagnosing process as of yet. Psychiatrists deliver a diagnoses based on a detailed patient and family history and on the patients response to pharmacological