Schizophrenia :: Health, Mental Disorder

schizophrenia is a degenerative mental disorderliness that impresss millions of flock worldwide. The term schizophrenia comes from the Greek roots schizen to split and phren consciousness so it is referred to as a as a split-mind disease. Eugen Bleuler diagnosed the first lineament of schizophrenia in 1908, but Auguste Morel had characterized the disease over 40 eld earlier in 1860 (Wikipedia 109). Characteristics of schizophrenia include positive and negative symptoms that plain in very different ways. The positive symptoms include psychotic mien much(prenominal) as auditory hallucinations and delusions as well as disorganise characteristics such as paranoid affect and a disordered opinion process. On the other hand, negative symptoms signify a loss of normal activity and can include social withdrawal, flat affect, and psychomotor stave (103 lecture). Having schizophrenia can issuing in average decrease in life expectancy of 12-15 years (due to its association with se condary side affects (wiki 2). Studies instanter show that schizophrenia has a global lifetime prevalence of some 1-2%, and accounts for up to half of all psychiatric inpatients (103 lecture). The debilitating make of schizophrenic psychosis usually results in a poor quality of life for the millions of people who suffer from the disease, so it is of the utmost importance to investigate its sets and potential treatments. many an(prenominal) brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, basil ganglia, and the cerebellum ask been implicated as potential sources of schizophrenias affects (103 lecture). It has been hypothesized that the medications used to treat Schizophrenia work to restore the neural conductivity and activity to the region of affect by restoring proper neurotransmitter function. Current treatment of Schizophrenia utilizes atypical antipsychotics, such as Aripiprazole (Abilify), Clozaril (Clozapine), and Risperdal (Resperidone) (Schizophrenia.com). These medicat ions have contributed significantly to the study of Schizophrenia and ar now the primary basis by which researchers study the neurological effects of the disease. Many major neurotransmitter systems such as Serotonin (5-HT), Dopamine (DA), and Glutamate (NMDA) have now been implicated in Schizophrenia and it is possible that complex interactions amidst these systems lead to the neurological effects of the disease. This paper will primarily focus on the Serotonin neurotransmitter system, with respect to the 5-HT2A receptors in the brain. The 5-HT2a ReceptorWhile the cause of schizophrenia is largely unknown there is evidence that it is a result of abnormal brain pharmacology. The role of the 5-HT receptors in schizophrenia has come to demoralize in the past few decades when it was found that the new generation of antipsychotics (referred to as atypical antipsychotics) act as potent 5-HT2a receptor antagonists relative to the loath(p) effect on dopamine receptors (Herbert Y.