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e-Portfolio Assignment
Biol. 1090- Human Biology
William Green
Veronica Zavala Orozco
Schizophrenia
According to Melinda Smith, Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects the
way a person act, thinks, and sees the world. Also, it is considerate a chronic disorder.
Some people with this disorder do not distinguish easily what it is real and what it is not.
In the USA estimate that 1% of the population is affected for this disorder (around 2
million people). Furthermore, it is considerate as the most common mental disorder that
needs hospitalization.
What are the symptoms?
o Distortion in language. In some

o Perception. Other symptom is

occasions it is not intelligible their

hallucination as hear voices, sound, or

language or say inconsistencies.

sensations that other people do not

o Thought content. They have delusion

experiment.

that people with this disorder affirm that

o They have disorganized thoughts and

people follow them, cause harm against

behavior.

them, as TV give them a certain

o They present agitation

message only for them, etc.

o Flat or blunted emotional affect (loss of

ego), etc.

Which are the causes of schizophrenia?

The Scientifics do not know exactly what causes schizophrenia; however, it is
considerate that genes are involved in this mental disorder and actually schizophrenia
runs in the family. It is considerate that several genes are associated with an increased

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risk of schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia tend to have higher rates of rare
genetic mutations. Additional, schizophrenia may result in part when a certain gene that
it is considerate a key to making important brain chemicals do not function correctly.
Additional, environment may be another factor to develop schizophrenia. The
interactions between genes and the environment could also be factors to detonate
schizophrenia.
What happens with the brain of people who suffer schizophrenia?
Interrelated chemical reactions of the brain involving the neurotransmitters
dopamine and glutamate, and possibly others neurotransmitters have role to develop
schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters are important substances that allow our brain cells
(neurons) to communicate each other.
According to some researches the brains of schizophrenics look different: the
fluid-filled cavities in the center of the brain (ventricles) are larges in some people with
schizophrenia. The majority of people with this disorder have less gray matter, and
some areas of the brain may have less or more activity.
What is the treatment?
Schizophrenia is treated with antipsychotic medication. This medication affects
neurotransmitters that allow communication between nerve cells.

The most common

medication is chloromazine (Thorazine), Haloperidol (Haldol), Perphenazine (Etrafon,

Trilafon), and fluphenazine.

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Works Cited
Cockerham, William C. "Chapter 2 Types of Mental Disorders." <i>Sociology of Mental
Disorder</i>. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
NIMH, "Schizophrenia." Schizophrenia. NIMH RSS. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml>.
Smith, Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Understanding Schizophrenia." <i>: Symptoms,
Types, Causes, and Early Warning Signs</i>. 1 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
&lt;http://www.helpguide.org/articles/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-signs-typesand-causes.htm&gt;.