Schizophrenia


Aetiology

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Evidence for the Aetiological Theories: Neurochemical Abnormalities

Good research evidence for the following factors suggests that dopamine is implicated in schizophrenia:

  1. Increased brain dopamine activity in schizophrenia
  2. Dopamine-promoting drugs can induce psychotic symptoms
  3. Dopamine-blocking drugs can reduce psychotic symptoms

There is also evidence that other neurotransmitter activity is disturbed in schizophrenia:

  1. Glutamate receptor blocking drugs (eg PCP or Ketamine) induce schizophrenia-like symptoms in normal people.
  2. Serotonin agonists (eg LSD) induce hallucinations in normal people