Thursday, January 27, 2011

Does anyone know the cause of schizophrenia?


Over the years, many causes of schizophrenia have been speculated from abnormal genes, childhood stress, difficult parenting, head trauma, brain infections and chromosomal defects. However, in all cases the association to schizophrenia has been refuted upon close evaluation.

Despite numerous studies on the brain, the cause of schizophrenia remains a puzzle. In some individuals, an abnormal amount of the two neurotransmitters, dopamine and glutamate, have been postulated as chief causes of schizophrenia. Many radiological studies on the brains of patients with schizophrenia show some structure and functional difference. However, these changes are not consistent and not seen in all individuals with schizophrenia. Moreover, researchers are not able to understand the significance of imaging changes in the brain of schizophrenics.

No comments:

Post a Comment