Schizophrenia Abstract Essay

Words: 1079
Pages: 5

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic brain disorder in which a person interprets actual reality abnormally. It is a mental disorder that makes it difficult to think clearly, have normal responses to emotions, act normal in a social setting, and tell the difference between their own interpretation of reality and actual reality. There are several types of Schizophrenia: paranoid, undifferentiated, disorganized, residual, and catatonic schizophrenia. The assumption is that schizophrenia is split or multiple personalities. Schizophrenia is defined as “split mind” but this references the disruption in normal balance of emotions and thinking. Schizophrenia is a chronic condition that requires lifelong treatment.
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Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that reacts in certain brain cells to help with emotion and movement and serotonin helps regulate body cycle processes. Taking these medications will help decrease events of psychosis and bipolar behavior and/or autism by inhibiting dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters. Haloperidol alters effects of serotonin and dopamine. It serves as an anticholinergic, which inhibits the acetylcholine action at the receptor site in the parasympathetic nervous system and as an alpha-adrenergic blocker which inhibits the release of epinephrine or epi-like substances in the sympathetic nervous system. This decreases the signs of schizophrenic behavior and improves behavior by creating a neutral state between rest and digest and flight or fight. Quetiapine is another drug that serves as an antagonizer of serotonin and dopamine along with being an antagonist to histamine and adrenergic receptors. Histamine causes capillary dilation and constriction of smooth muscle in the bronchials and decreases overall blood pressure. This drug decreases delusions, hallucinations, and depression by blocking the action of histamine and the flight or fight response. Clozapine binds specifically to dopamine receptors but also has anti cholinergic blocking activity which in return decreases schizophrenic behavior by reducing flight or fight response and regulating emotion. Anti-depression/anti-anxiety medication Welbutin and