Tag Archives: schizophrenia

Sleep abnormalities in different clinical stages of psychosis

Sleep abnormalities are commonly observed in individuals with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. Research shows that over half of people with these conditions have trouble sleeping. Poor sleep also often contributes to the development and worsening of

Painkillers to treat schizophrenia or dementia?

Painkillers to treat schizophrenia or dementia? AoS

Schizophrenia affects about 1 % of general population and may significantly reduce life expectancy. Drug nonadherence remains a crucial problem in the pharmacotherapy of this disorder. Animal and clinical studies results suggest that abnormal kynurenic acid (KYNA)

Discovery of new genes in schizophrenia: the importance of rare diseases in psychiatry

Discovery of new genes in schizophrenia. AoS

Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric illness affecting one percent of the population worldwide. Patients suffering from schizophrenia present delusions, hallucinations, abnormal behavior, impairment in daily life and cognitive deficits. Current treatments are insufficient in addressing all of

Functional gene analysis to understand complex biological mechanisms in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a chronic debilitating psychiatric disorder affecting approximately 7 in 1000 people in their lifetime and ranked as one of the top 15 leading causes of disability worldwide. The symptoms of SCZ can be divided

Is schizophrenia disappearing?

Psychosis is a mental state with grossly impaired reality testing, manifesting as different mixtures of delusions, hallucinations, deviant thinking and abnormal motor behaviour – so-called positive symptoms. Negative symptoms – reduced emotions, interests, will and social participation

Do those with schizophrenia more accurately perceive reality? And why is this ‘abnormal’?

Visual illusions, such as those illustrated in the figures below, are fun opportunities to bewilder the mind, emphasising the gap between what we see (our subjective perception) and what meets the eye (the true physical reality). Are

What do or should we value in the treatment for psychotic individuals?

Even with the biological approach adopted by mainstream psychiatry, it seems necessary to revitalize interest in the use of psychotherapy in the treatment of psychosis. Supporting this idea,  there are compelling reasons. One of the most important

Promiscuous drugs exemplified by dopamine receptor ligands

Dopamine, often referred as “the happiness hormone”, is one of the most prominent messenger molecules in the human brain. It is a precursor of noradrenaline and adrenaline, which are neurotransmitters as well. Most people heard about dopamine

Influence of DAOA and RGS4 genes on the risk for psychotic disorders

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD), including schizophrenia and other psychosis related conditions, affect about 3.5% of the population worldwide. Although there are quantitative differences, similar clinical and cognitive characteristics can be present across all the diagnoses of the spectrum.

Assuming defeat, thwarting the feat: Defeatist beliefs, negative symptoms, and everyday functioning in people with schizophrenia

Imagine wanting to invite a friend for coffee. You might be thinking about what coffee shop to go to or what outfit to wear. But what if instead of planning the details of the coffee date you

Pathological role of oxidative stress and related with schizophrenia in T. gondii infection

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects all warm-blooded animals, including humans. Oxidative stress (OS) occurs when there is an imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant factors and is induced by reactive nitrogen species

Schizophrenia and the Cultural Revolution in China

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects around 1% of population in the world. Previous research has identified important causes of schizophrenia including certain genes as well as risk factors occurred at early life. However, few

Computerized assessment of neuropsychological performance in schizophrenia

In clinical studies, intellectual performance is most often measured with standardized neuropsychological paper-and-pencil tasks. Such tasks can measure an individual’s performance in different domains of intellectual performance such as speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning,

Risk factors for psychotic major depression

Risk factors are attributes, characteristics, or experience that increase the likelihood of developing an illness or disorder. An understanding of the risk factors involved in mental disorders may inform the development of more effective treatments or even

Loneliness matters for people with psychotic disorders

When you ask people with a psychotic disorder, like schizophrenia, what challenges them most in daily life they are likely to say – ‘loneliness’. As nearly everyone can attest, loneliness is painful. It’s the distressing feeling that

A novel perspective on schizophrenic-like symptoms

One of the key questions in neuroscience involves understanding how the brain processes cognitive functions – like learning new information, making adaptive decisions, and engaging in social interactions with others. We know that these activities occur across