Schizophrenia and Brain Receptors

Scientists from the New Castle University have claimed to have obtained evidences that could prove the probable cause of the abnormalities occurring in the electrical waves of the brains. The research team believes that schizophrenics are deficient in essential brain receptors that control them.

They have conducted a research on rats' where the receptors were diminished with the help of medication to note the changes in wave frequency; the changes did occur and that proved the fact.

Schizophrenia is basically psychiatric disarray which indicates a rare mental disorder with typical characteristics such as perception disorders and/or abnormality in expressing reality. The disorder commonly manifests abnormalities as acoustic hallucinations, weird delusions or paranoid, disordered speech and thought process with significant dysfunction in their social ass well as occupational aspects. The symptoms of schizophrenia are likely to onset during adolescence. The diagnosis of this disorder is solely dependent on self-reports provided by the patient of his/her experiences and behavioral conditions; at times others observation might also assist in diagnosis.

Studies have revealed over time that some of the probable contributing factors to schizophrenia could be genetics, neurobiology, early environment, social or some psychological processes. Some drugs; may be recreational or prescribed ones can aggravate the symptoms further. Recent psychiatric research primarily focuses on the neurobiological factors that could possibly be the real cause of such mental disorder, but no evidences have been found yet. As there are two many contradictory symptoms of schizophrenia, it is often difficult to conclude whether the diagnosis indicates a single problem or a combination of a couple of distinct symptoms; the debate is still on.

Schizophrenic individuals are likely to have an escalated dopamine activity in the brain's mesolimbic pathway. Antipsychotic medications are the most soughted treatment and are used for subduing the dopamine activity. Psychotherapy along with social and vocational rehabilitation can also help in this regard. In severe cases where there is a risk for the individual as well as for others - hospitalization is the ultimate way.

Schizophrenia is believed to affect human cognition but, it also has a dramatic impact on an individual's emotions and behavior. Schizophrenics might also have certain comorbid conditions, such as anxiety disorders and severe depression.

Several studies have been carried out to identify the truth of schizophrenia, but no fruitful results have been derived yet. Scientists are still trying their best to look more closely in to the brain functions of people having schizophrenia and the ones who don't - that's the only way of deriving evidence to prove that truth of their suggested theory.

Previously, a difference was derived by researchers related to the "gamma frequency oscillation" - a typical electrical activity pattern found to be different in schizophrenics. The Newcastle research team has aimed to derive real cause of such an alteration.

The research team used Ketamine, a recreational drug for humans that causes hallucinations, a primary symptom of schizophrenia. When this was applied to the brain cells of rats, the frequency of the electrical activities the rat's brain changed dramatically by blocking the brain receptor NMDA.

This could allegedly mean that schizophrenics either don't have adequate receptors, or their receptors are non-functional.

"Our hope would be that in the long term this could lead to a method for actually improving brain function, not only for people with schizophrenia, but potentially for many other brain conditions." - adds Dr. Mark Cunningham.