Identify biological and environmental causes of schizophrenia. Explain how these causes interact in determining the probability that a person will exhibit the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are biological and environmental causes of schizophrenia, but it is the biological causes that create a predisposition to develop schizophrenia. The environmental causes serve as a trigger for those individuals with the biological predisposition. The biological causes of schizophrenia include genetics and brain chemistry. Family, twin, and adoption studies have shown evidence that schizophrenia has a genetic component. The more closely related you are to someone with schizophrenia, the greater your risk. Scientists have not been able to locate the genes involved in schizophrenia, but they suggest the genetic architecture is complex. Neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate may also play a role in schizophrenia, which may explain why the use of antipsychotic medications that alter brain chemistry is helpful in treating schizophrenia. The brains of people with schizophrenia have been found to have enlarged ventricles (fluid-filled cavities in the center of the brain) and a smaller volume of gray matter in parts of the cortex where emotions are processed.
If a person has a genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia, then exposure to environmental risk factors increases the likelihood of that person developing schizophrenia. Environmental factors include family environment, drug use, and stress. Studies suggest that family environment may interact with other factors to either promote or inhibit the development and continuance of schizophrenic symptoms. Sometimes symptoms of schizophrenia can develop as a result of heavy drug use in adolescence. People who experience stressful environments, such as those living in crowded urban areas or impoverished neighborhoods, and people who experience negative life events or stressors, such as unemployment, divorce, or military combat, are at higher risk for schizophrenia.