Schizophrenia affects approximately one percent of the population in any given year. Schizophrenia has been deemed a severe brain disorder that does not discriminate, although males tend to show earlier age symptoms than females. Schizophrenia requires lifelong intervention once diagnosed, and there is not one specific cause for this disorder. The Mayo Clinic indicates that schizophrenia is influenced by a combination of genetic predisposition and environment. What is known is once schizophrenia has been identified as the correct diagnosis, neuro-imaging can confirm the structural changes that occur in the brain of the person with schizophrenia.
Genetic Factors
Genetic predisposition is a strong factor in the development of schizophrenia. Genetics however, is not certain in developing schizophrenia, but the more relatives that have a history of psychiatric or schizophrenia symptoms, the higher the risk of getting the disorder. Genetic traits are nurtured in one direction or the other toward the disorder through environmental influences. For instance, if a person has a family history of mental illness and is also raised in an environment of turmoil, abuse or neglect, the likelihood of the dormant genes for schizophrenia becoming active is increased. A combination of genetic predisposition and unsavory environment can alter the way a person chemically processes events thus leading to the potential brain disturbance found in people with schizophrenia.
Environmental Factors
Environment refers to external factors that are not genetically or biologically within the individual experiencing symptoms. A child exposed to repeated trauma, physical abuse or neglect has a high risk environment. When repeated exposure to a high-risk environment occurs, yet there is no known genetic predisposition to psychiatric illness, schizophrenia can still develop. A possible reason for the development of the disorder despite genetics is the internal chemical development of the child being changed due to constant stress of a physical and emotional nature. During early development the body creates a balance of chemicals to manage life stress. However, when trauma or repeated abuse is inflicted upon a person, the way that person is able to cope with the pain transforms from a normal fight or flight response to having too much or too little chemicals in the body for healthy coping. A disrupted environment can be a factor as high as 50 percent toward developing schizophrenia.
Chemical Factors
Dopamine is the primary imbalanced neurotransmitter found in people with schizophrenia. There are five variations of dopamine produced in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for movement, thinking, motivation, reward and pleasure, mood, attention, memory, sleep, learning, heart rate and blood pressure. An excessive amount of dopamine in the brain is a factor found in people with schizophrenia. Many of the medications produced for treating schizophrenia act to lower the dopamine levels in the brain to reduce the symptoms common in schizophrenia that impair thinking, mood and motivation.
