Biological Approach To Schziphrenia

Question 1

What type of genetic is Schizophrenia?

Answer 1

It is is polygenic - that is a number of these genes each confer a small increase risk - (108)

Question 2

What is Aetiologically heterogeneous and how does it link to schizophrenia?

Answer 2

Different combinations of these genes (polygenic) can lead to different symptoms of schizophrenia in different people.

Question 3

What are some specific candidate genes?

Answer 3

COMT , gene 9

Question 4

What study this approach towards schizophrenia?

Answer 4

Gottesman (1991) - He found the more genes you share, the more likely you are have schizophrenia. Identical twins have a 48% chance where as fraternal twins have a 17%.

Question 5

What is one limitation of this approach?

Answer 5

There is also a nurture side as to why people have schizophrenia. This is shown in Gottlesmen as even thought fraternal twins and parents share the same genes, fraternal twins are more like too have schizophrenia. This is due to the fact that they are brought up together - nurture.

Question 6

What is a strength of this approach?

Answer 6

Joseph (2004) - he showed the concordance rate of 40.4% MZ and only 7.4% for DZ.

Question 7

What is a strength of this approach?

Answer 7

Tienari et al (2004) - Studied 19000 Finnish children adopted away from SZ mothers. They found 6.7% of children whose mothers were SZ developed the disorder compared with 2% whose mothers weren’t.

Question 8

What is a example of the genetic explanation?

Answer 8

Ripke et al (2014) - meta analysis of genome-wide studies, 37,000 p’s, 108 genes.

Question 9

What is meant by ‘Neural Correlates”?

Answer 9

Abnormalities within different brain areas (neural) have a relationship with symptoms of schizophrenia

Question 10

What is the Dopamine Hypothesis?

Answer 10

Traditional explanation:
High levels DA - (Hyperdopaminergia)
High levels in the subcorrex is linked to hallucinations - positive symptoms
Modern explanations:
Low levels of dopamine
In the cortex, particularly front of the brain - negative symptoms

Question 11

Evidence for the dopamine hypothesis

Answer 11

Cocaine - can cause positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Amphetamines - this increases the levels of dopamine and makes symptoms worse - Curran et al.