SCHIZOPHRENIA and Understanding It
What Is It?
Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic, and often disabling brain disease. While the term schizophrenia literally means, "split mind," it should not be confused with a "split," or multiple, personality. It is more accurately described as a psychosis -- a type of illness that causes severe mental disturbances that disrupt normal thought, speech, and behavior.
The first signs of schizophrenia usually appear as shocking or radical changes in behavior. Others may have severe psychotic symptoms listed above. But many people also show "negative" symptoms, such as decreased emotional arousal, mental activity, and inability to socialize.
Schizophrenics often report a sense of strangeness and confusion about the source of their sensations. They feel great loneliness, anxiety, and an overwhelming sense of being disconnected from others.
A schizophrenic person may think and communicate incoherently, jumping from one idea to another, using vague or repetitive words, or mixing a "word salad" of new words or jumbled phrases. It is common for schizophrenics to be suspicious and resentful. They may sense that their thoughts are stolen, broadcast aloud, or replaced by new information from strangers seeking to control their behavior. They may describe voices that speak directly to them or criticize their behavior.
Schizophrenia often appears earlier in men -- when they are in their late teens to early adulthood -- and in women in their 20s and early 30s, but the disease affects men and women with equal frequency. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 2.2 million American adults or about 1.1% of the population age 18 and older in a given year have schizophrenia. Some people experience only a single episode and remain symptom-free afterward. More commonly, however, the course of illness fluctuates over several decades, with each recurrence leading to increasing impairment.
To learn about other psychotic disorders -- including schizophreniform disorder and schizoaffective disorder, both closely related to schizophrenia -- see
What Causes It?
Experts don't know what causes schizophrenia, but they agree that it most likely results from a complex interplay of genetic, behavioral, and other factors, similar to other diseases.
It is widely believed that neurotransmitters, brain chemicals that allow communication between brain cells, play a role in causing schizophrenia, but the exact mechanism is not known. Most medicines used to treat the disease target the neurotransmitter dopamine and its receptors.
Genetics also seems to play a role, as schizophrenia runs in families, but there is no single "schizophrenia gene." It appears that multiple genes are involved in creating a predisposition to the disease. Research has also shown that a number of factors, such as prenatal difficulties or other stressful situations, influence the development of schizophrenia.
Imaging studies of the brain (such as MRI) have revealed actual physical changes in the brain structure of people suffering from psychotic disorders.
Still, doctors cannot accurately predict whether a given person will develop schizophrenia.