Module 68 REVIEW

• 68-1 What patterns of perceiving, thinking, and feeling characterize schizophrenia?

• People with schizophrenia display symptoms that are positive (inappropriate behaviors are present) or negative (appropriate behaviors are absent).
• Positive symptoms may include hallucinations, delusions, talking in a disorganized way, and inappropriate laughter, tears, or rage. Negative symptoms may include toneless voices, expressionless faces, or mute and rigid bodies.

• 68-2 How do chronic schizophrenia and acute schizophrenia differ?

• In chronic (or process) schizophrenia, the disorder develops gradually and recovery is doubtful.
• In acute (or reactive) schizophrenia, the onset is sudden, in reaction to stress, and the prospects for recovery are brighter.

• 68-3 What brain abnormalities are associated with schizophrenia?

• People with schizophrenia have increased dopamine receptors, which may intensify brain signals, creating positive symptoms such as hallucinations and paranoia.
• Brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia include enlarged, fluid-filled areas and corresponding shrinkage and thinning of cerebral tissue.
• Brain scans reveal abnormal activity in the frontal lobes, thalamus, and amygdala, as well as a loss of neural connections across the brain network.

• 68-4 What prenatal events are associated with increased risk of developing schizophrenia?

• Possible contributing factors include maternal diabetes, older paternal age, viral infections, or famine conditions during the mother’s pregnancy, and low weight or oxygen deprivation at birth.

• 68-5 How do genes influence schizophrenia? What factors may be early warning signs of schizophrenia in children?

• Twin and adoption studies indicate that the predisposition to schizophrenia is inherited.
• Schizophrenia is influenced by many genes, each with very small effects. Environmental factors—including those present in the prenatal environment—may influence gene expression to enable this disorder.
• While no environmental causes invariably produce schizophrenia, possible early warning signs of later development of schizophrenia include both biological factors (a mother with severe and long-lasting schizophrenia, birth complications, short attention span, and poor muscle coordination) and psychological factors (disruptive or withdrawn behavior, emotional unpredictability, poor peer relations and solo play, separation from parents, and childhood abuse).

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Believing that aliens are trying to steal her thoughts, Shauna wears a special hat that she designed. Her beliefs represent
   1. hallucinations.
   2. thickening cerebral tissue.
   3. delusions.
   4. a word salad.
   5. insufficient dopamine receptors.
2. Over several years, Charles gradually developed schizophrenia. Because of this, the prognosis for recovery is poor. His type of schizophrenia would be referred to as
   1. acute.
   2. chronic.
   3. maternal.
   4. catatonic.
   5. positive.
3. A person with schizophrenia who is experiencing negative symptoms is likely to demonstrate
   1. hallucinations.
   2. delusions.
   3. disorganized speech.
   4. inappropriate laughter.
   5. social withdrawal.

Practice FRQs

1. Julia and Eleanor are identical twins who were raised apart. Julia has developed schizophrenia, but Eleanor has not. Given what we know about how schizophrenia is strongly influenced by genetic and prenatal factors, explain how this could happen when Julia and Eleanor have identical genes and shared the same prenatal environment. Provide at least one research-supported factor that could have prompted the onset of schizophrenia in Julia.

Answer

2 points: Environmental factors also contribute to the onset of schizophrenia, which suggests why this disorder is not 100 percent heritable. Researchers have found that severe stress or trauma, such as that caused by separation from parents or childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse are associated with later schizophrenia in those who are genetically predisposed to the disorder. Julia’s childhood may have been more stressful and traumatic than Eleanor’s, which could explain why Julia but not Eleanor developed schizophrenia.

1. Schizophrenia has been linked to brain and neurotransmitter abnormalities as well as genetics. Explain research findings related to two features of brain anatomy, one neurotransmitter, and one genetic factor that could cause someone to develop schizophrenia.

(4 points)