Schizophrenia
A group of severe disorders
characterized by…
•disorganized and delusional
thinking
•disturbed perceptions
•inappropriate emotions and
behaviors
Often linked to the
neurotransmitter dopamine
How Prevalent is Schizophrenia?
• About 1 in every 100 people are
diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Symptoms
Of
Schizophrenia
Disorganized Thinking
• Fragmented, bizarre and distorted with false
beliefs.
• Comes from a breakdown in selective
attention (sensory adaptation)
• they cannot filter out information.
Often causes……
Delusions (false beliefs)
Delusions of
Persecution
Delusions of
Grandeur
Disturbed Perceptions
• Hallucinations
– sensory experiences without sensory stimulation
– Most often are auditory
– Can be visual or tactile (feeling something)
Inappropriate Emotions
and Actions
• Laugh at inappropriate
times.
• Flat Effect
– no emotions
• Senseless, compulsive acts
• Word salad
• Catatonia
– motionless
• Waxy Flexibility
Symptoms of Schizophrenia are put into one of
two categories
• Positive Symptoms
– When symptoms are present like hallucinations,
delusions, and bizarre behavior
• Negative Symptoms
– When aspects of behavior are deficit or missing
• like apathy or lack of facial expression of emotions
Positive Symptoms
=
Something is there
Negative Symptoms
=
Something is absent
Types of
Schizophrenia
Paranoid Schizophrenia
• preoccupation with
paranoid delusions or
hallucinations.
– Somebody is out to
get me!!!!
Disorganized Schizophrenia
•
•
•
•
disorganized speech or behavior
flat or inappropriate emotion
Usually visibly disturbed
Thought to have “gone mad”
Catatonic Schizophrenia
• Mostly catatonic effect
• Parrot like repeating of another’s speech and
movements
Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
• Many and varied Symptoms.
• Doesn’t seem to fit with the other types
Causes of Schizophrenia
 Genetic

Factors
An identical twin has a 45-50% chance of having
schizophrenia
 Biochemical


Imbalances
Imbalances of dopamine
Too many or too sensitive dopamine receptors
 Brain
Abnormalities