Risk Factors In Schizophrenia Research

(2016) ran into trouble due to issues of skewness. Thus, the ventricular cerebrospinal fluid had to be transformed using a natural log. This was done so that researchers could approximate a Gaussian distribution. By doing so they found a main effect for diagnosis and an increase in volume for patients suffering from schizophrenia. A significant interaction between diagnosis and violence was also found. NVS and VS patients had an increase in volume compared to HC and there was an increase volume in comparison between NVS to NPV. When it came to the role of negative symptoms and medication, it was only limited to patients who suffered with schizophrenia. This data was used to investigate the possible role of several factors including illness duration on gray matter volume loss. No group difference was found. Researchers also found no correlation between CPZ equivalent and WBV, ventricular cerebral spinal fluid, left amygdala, left hippocampus, left thalamus, right amygdala, right hippocampus, or right thalamus volumes. Schizophrenic groups were found to differ in age, academic achievement, substance use and negative

Schizophrenia is a brain disease. Many studies have been conducted regarding the brain localization of schizophrenia. One study established that schizophrenia is characterized by significant loss in the grey matter of the brain. The loss was detected to be up to 25% in some areas and the damage was seen to begin at the parietal (outer) regions of the brain then spreading to the rest of the regions of the brain over a period of about five years ADDIN EN.CITE Rajagopalan1998923(Rajagopalan, MacBeth, & Varma, 1998)92392317Rajagopalan, MMacBeth, RVarma, SLXXY chromosome anomaly and schizophreniaAmerican Journal Medical GeneticsAmerican Journal Medical Genetics64-65811998( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_9" o "Rajagopalan, 1998 #923" Rajagopalan, MacBeth, & Varma, 1998). Another study showed that patients who had the worst loss of brain tissue also exhibited the worst symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations, psychotic and bizarre thoughts, hearing voices, depression and delusion ADDIN EN.CITE Conklin2002797(Conklin & Iacono, 2002)79779717Conklin, Heather M.Iacono, William G.Schizophrenia: A Neurodevelopmental PerspectiveCurrent Directions in Psychological ScienceCurrent Directions in Psychological Science33-371112002Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of Association for Psychological Science09637214http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182759( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_2" o "Conklin, 2002 #797" Conklin & Iacono, 2002).

The baseline images of schizophrenic patients were used to classify schizophrenia. The images of schizophrenic patients were analyzed using the SVR and the resulting predicted brain age minus the actual age of the subject was used to determine the brain age gap. The brain age gap reflects whether the subject’s brain is younger or older than the expected chronological age. In addition to baseline measurements, approximately 378 subjects returned for at least one follow-up scan. A total of 1,197 follow up scans were collected in total and the time in-between baseline images and follow up images ranged from 1 year to 13 years. Both healthy and schizophrenic subjects returned for follow up MRI’s and these images were again run through the Support Vector Regression machine to determine approximate brain age and thus brain age gap values.

Schizophrenia is a psychological disease with an unknown treatment. Its onset starts in early adult hood on average. There are many studies showing links to genetics and environmental causes. In this paper I will discuss many of the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia along with how it is diagnosed, imaged with MRI, and the difficulty in treating this disease. More treatments for schizophrenia may be revealed with the further advancement of imaging technology. Schizophrenia is a disease that affects the most complex structure in the human body, the human brain. The more research that is continued on the smaller segments of the different areas of the brain with imaging modalities the closer we get to

Biological theorists believe that individuals may have a genetic predisposition for the schizophrenia if a close family member has been diagnosed with the disorder. Stress during adolescent years seems to provoke the disorder among individuals who have a family history of the disorder. In addition, this theory suggests biochemical abnormalities related to the dopamine neurotransmitters may also contribute to the illness as the brains neurotransmission of the dopamine is too frequent in occurrence (Comer, 2005). CAT and MRI scans have also indicated that abnormal brain structuring may also play a role in the development of schizophrenia due to a common occurrence of enlarged ventricles within schizophrenia sufferers (Comer, 2005). Various parts of the brain may not develop for function properly which seems lead to Type II schizophrenia. Studies have also pointed towards the idea that exposure to certain viruses before birth may lead to the eventual development of schizophrenia (Comer, 2005).

One of the main differences between an individual affected by schizophrenia and an individual who isn't, would be enlarged ventricles in the brain. Enlarged ventricles indicate that the brain is detoriating, particularly in areas of the brain affected by thought disorder. One of the other indicators that schizophrenia is a brain disorder, would be the increase in the size of sulci of the brain. This increase of the sulci is directly related to a

A Review of " Intrinsic Hippocampal Activity as a Biomarker for Cognition and Symptoms in Schizophrenia"

Today, scientists at the University of Iowa are studying abroad how people suffering from the mental disorder, schizophrenia, may have less brain tissue than those who do not have the disorder. Schizophrenia deeply affects the brain and causes individuals to lose touch with reality and have unorganized thoughts, troubled perceptions and unsuitable emotions and actions. “Schizo” means split and “phrenia” means mind, however this does not mean that this is a split mind or personality disorder, like most people commonly mistake this as. In order to understand this disorder, we need to take a look at the actual condition and how it is defined, apart from other disorders, speculated causes, such as genes from

Over the last few decades Schizophrenia has become embedded in mainstream vernacular as any behavior or emotional response that is out of touch with reality. However even with its popularity heightened through movies and headline news stories, schizophrenia is still one of the most enigmatic and least understood disorders of the brain. With current research focused on the role of neurobiology and functioning on a cellular level, investigative analysis has merited new innovations towards its source, however a single organic cause for the disorder still eludes scientists. Although the foundation of the affliction is still unknown, its effects are well documented and over the next few pages will show the changes in the brain as the disease

Schizophrenia is a complex and highly debilitating mental illness that we are currently unable to treat in any way that guarantees success or return to previous function. It affects around 1% of the population and is associated with a thirteen-fold increase in the likelihood of suicide, so its effective control is paramount (Gogos et al., 2015). There have been several hypotheses as to the cause of schizophrenia. Many link genetic and environmental factors, and dysregulations of neurotransmitters dopamine, glutamate, and serotonin (Egbujo, Sinclair, & Hahn, 2016). The dopamine hypothesis currently suggests that hyperactive dopamine transmission in the basal ganglia leads to psychosis and underactive dopamine transmission in the prefrontal

Early detection of schizophrenia is an intriguing topic that has been studied for decades but still lack acknowledgement. It is repeatedly misunderstood in adolescents. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric chronic disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population in the United States and typically presents in early adult life (Nemade & Dombeck, 2009). It is commonly associated with social and psychological deficits presented through irritability, erratic behavior, and bizarre thoughts such as hallucinations and delusions (Tossell, 2003). The underlying causes of schizophrenia in adolescents is not essentially known, however it is believed that neurodevelopment alterations, genetic variations, and distinctive environmental factors contribute

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe neurological brain disorder characterized by disruptions in perception and reality and disturbances in emotions and language. This disorder is extensively studied by researchers, however the specific mechanisms and factors behind its development are still not completely understood. Most cases of schizophrenia arise in men between the ages 16-30, though the disorder is not confined to this group. Additionally, studies have identified over 100 genes associated with schizophrenia, making the causes of the disorder difficult to elucidate.What is better understood about the disorder is that there are changes in brain structure and communication.

In the search for the etiology of schizophrenia, several possibilities have been investigated, including psychodynamic, autoimmune, and genetic, but two have been long pitted against each other: neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative. While there is evidence for both processes, current research is more supportive of a neurodevelopmental etiology. However, schizophrenia will likely not be explained by a single process. Since the current study did not include longitudinal studies, it is difficult to directly support either theory. But, indirect evidence was observed. The presence of ERG abnormalities in healthy high-risk offspring (Hebert et al., 2010) and widening of venules in unaffected co-twins supports neurodevelopment. The OCT findings, on the other hand, more support neurodegeneration. As discussed previously and summarized in Figures 3, 4, and 5, there is a negative correlation between duration of illness and RNFL and macular thickness. This could be secondary to a progressive loss of brain volume as detected by retinal thinning.

Evidence of progressive abnormal brain development in schizophrenia has emerged from the first longitudinal brain imaging study ever conducted in adolescents for any illness.Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI),the resaerchers compared the scan of ill teeneagers and those of adults.The initial scan shows that children and the adolescents with schizophrenia tended to show enlarged ventricles,

Finlay (2001) investigated how schizophrenic symptoms are paralleled by complex structural and functional abnormalities in brain regions such as the thalamus, the prefrontal cortex and the temporal lobe. As a result of the delayed onset of symptoms in early adulthood, abnormal development occurs in the nervous system which may contribute greatly to the neurobiology of the disorder. Weinberger’s (1988) longstanding hypothesis focused on the dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex and the association with schizophrenic cognitive deficits. Furthermore, Finlay’s (2001) research focused on the concept of a dysfunction of the mesoprefrontal DA neurons that may relate to the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. As the clinical symptoms of this disorder emerge during early adulthood, abnormal developmental processes are thought to contribute to the pathos-physiology of the disorder. It was discovered the the DA intervention of the prefrontal cortex undergoes significant change up until adulthood which leads to Finlay’s hypothesis that the abnormal development of this system may be related to the emergence of schizophrenia. Experimental and clinical research portrayed the relationship between this system, and abnormalities in cognitive performance. Another interesting finding by Finlay (2001), was that impaired function of mesoprefrontal DA may be the causation of decreased density of DA- which contains nerve endings within the prefrontal cortex of afflicted individuals.