Explain the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia and what evidence it is based on. Further, explain why this hypothesis has been proven incomplete.
What will be an ideal response?
According to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, many of the positive symptoms such as delusions and paranoia are due to overactivity at dopamine synapses. Evidence comes from those high on amphetamine drugs, which increase dopamine activity. Amphetamine users show symptoms of delusions and paranoia similar to those seen in schizophrenia. However, this hypothesis is incomplete. Drugs that reduced dopamine activity serve to reduce symptoms of schizophrenia, but they only work on some patients. LSD another psychoactive drugs increase serotonin levels. This rise in serotonin also causes schizophrenic-like symptoms in the drug user. Thus, schizophrenia is also caused by increased activity at the serotonin synapses. Other antipsychotic drugs that work on patients nonresponsive to the dopamine-suppressing drugs also alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia by regulating not just serotonin but also glutamate - another neurotransmitter other than dopamine that has been proven to be involved in schizophrenic symptoms.
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