ESL 91
SPRING, 2003
FOCUS DISCIPLINE ESSAYS
PSYCHOLOGY

Farida Shamailova
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Describe the mental disorder schizophrenia. Discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatment of schizophrenia. Be sure to talk about the biological bases of the disorder.

Schizophrenia is a real physical illness. Many people do not have a clear understanding of schizophrenia. Because it has been misunderstood for so long, it has received relatively little attention. Schizophrenia is a physical illness, just like diabetes or asthma. Schizophrenia has causes, typical signs and symptoms that are recognizable in patients with this illness, and like all illnesses, the symptoms vary from person to person. While there is no cure for schizophrenia it is a very treatable illness.

According to the text: ”Schizophrenia digest,” Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain that effects one out of one hundred people in the world. Schizophrenia is a form of psychosis that causes people a loss of reality. People with schizophrenia may feel frightened, anxious, and confused. Their speech and behavior can become very disorganized. Although “schizo” means split and “phrenia” means mind, schizophrenia has nothing to do with “split personality” or “multiple personality.” It has a biological basis. Brain chemistry and brain activity are different in a person who is suffering from schizophrenia and a person without schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is characterized by the presence of grossly abnormal behavior. The first symptoms usually appear when people are in their late 20s. In his study Dr. David Shore, chief of the Schizophrenia Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental health in Bethesda notes that “the seeds of the disorder are often sown during fetal development.” That is when the cells grow and divide, building connections with each other. The basic flaw in the brains of many schizophrenics seems to be that certain nerve cells migrate to the wrong areas when the brain is first taking shape, leaving small parts of the brain for a long time out of place or misconnected. One thought is that brain misconnections might develop when the mother catches a virus early in pregnancy.

The major symptoms of schizophrenia include disordered thinking, delusions, and hallucinations. Schizophrenics often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds or controlling their thoughts. People with schizophrenia may behave very differently at various times. Sometimes they may not move for hours or utter a sound. At other times they may move about constantly, always occupied and alert.

Disordered thinking is the diminished ability to think clearly and logically. Thoughts may come and go rapidly. People may not be able to focus attention, to concentrate on one thought. They are unable to decide what is relevant and what is not. People with this illness cannot connect thoughts logically. This absence of logical thinking is termed “thought disorder.” They are incapable of participating in conversation.

Delusions are common among individuals with schizophrenia. An affected person may believe that he or she is being conspired against. This is called “paranoid delusion.” “Broadcasting“ describes a type of delusion in which people with schizophrenia believe that their thoughts can be heard by others. Delusions, in which the person believes he or she is a famous or important figure, may also occur.

Hallucinations can be heard, seen, or even felt. Schizophrenics can hear voices not heard by others. Such voices may describe the person’s actions, warn him of danger or tell him what to do.

According to the text:“Psychiatry.com” there is no known single cause of schizophrenia, but the experts do agree that the disease is due to abnormalities of brain function, some of which have been discovered. Nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other by releasing chemicals (neurotransmitters) from their nerve ending. There are abnormalities in certain nerve cells in people who suffer from schizophrenia. The nerve cells are those which use two different neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin.

Therapy and hospitalization are very necessary in cases of schizophrenia. Antipsychotic drugs can improve the functioning of people with schizophrenia. With medication and treatment, the symptoms of schizophrenia can often be controlled. But without treatment, some people become so psychotic and disorganized that they cannot care for their basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Once the symptoms improve, people can continue to have productive lives. Because of the nature of the disorder, some people with schizophrenia may deny that they need medication. Also remembering to take medications may be difficult because of the disorganized thinking. It is very important and it is a great piece of luck when a person with any kind of disease has relatives and friends. Only those nearest can play a very important role, by providing support, and helping the schizophrenic to receive appropriate care.

When I was little, we had a neighbor who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Owing to my research I can tell now that she had symptoms of hallucinations. She had no relatives. Her neighbors were her nearest people and friends in her life. When neighbors recognized that something was wrong, they called a doctor who said that she needed hospitalization. After a while when she came back home, she was an absolutely different person.

Schizophrenia is really treatable and as we learn more, the opportunity for better understanding of schizophrenia is now here.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness in which a person can lose contact with reality and may experience hallucinations and delusions among other symptoms. Being diagnosed with any life long illness can be difficult to accept. It is important to remember that schizophrenia is a treatable illness. Learning about the disease and its treatment will help to avoid the temptation to blame. The best way to treat a friend or relative with schizophrenia is with compassion, understanding, and support. And it is really a great piece of luck to have friends who are right there any time we need them to provide support and care, friends who help us to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

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Tatyana Ilkiv
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Describe the mental disorder Schizophrenia.  Discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatment of Schizophrenia.  Be sure to talk about the biological bases of the disorder.

The high tempo of our life seldom gives us the time for relaxation and health, and brings us a lot of psychological problems.  Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes, behavior and emotional disorders.  One of them is Schizophrenia.

According to the web page” Schizophrenia”, the word schizophrenia is divided into two components, which are schizo and phrenia.  Schizo means “split”, which refers to personality and also focus us on people losing touch with reality.  Phrenia means “ mind”, and refers to a split mind.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder.  It’s a very grave malady of our century, which affects about 1% of the population.  Today many scientists are working in to solve this problem and help people to become healthy.  In their works, they explained the symptoms of Schizophrenia and nature of this mental disorder.  Some significant symptoms of Schizophrenia are a break with reality, unusual behavior and hallucinations.

There are different factors that cause Schizophrenia.  These factors include changes in the chemistry of the brain, changes in the structure of the brain, excessive levels of dopamine, and genetic factors.   There are also environmental, genetic, and biochemical causes.

The environment is the first factor that can cause Schizophrenia.  The first environmental factor occurs in poor people; they are more affected with this disorder than people who have a wealthy family.  It happens because they have a lot of stress.  The second one occurs when people live in high crime rate areas. As a result of this, they get stresses, so these people have more chances to get the disease.

Another cause of Schizophrenia is genetics.  People may get Schizophrenia from their parents or their previous generations.  People who have relatives with Schizophrenia have a 10% higher chance of getting this disease.  Scientists found that identical twins stand a 50% to 85% chance of sharing the disease.

A third cause of Schizophrenia is biochemical.  The biochemistry of the Schizophrenic brain is different from the biochemistry of the normal brain.  By a lot of sensory information coming at once into the brain, elements like proteins would become reduced in the brain of a Schizophrenic.  The protein in the brain does important work in filtering out sensory information.  When the person takes in a lot of sensory information at once, the protein is significantly reduced.  Schizophrenic’s brain neurons also have an overabundance of the chemical dopamine.  This neurotransmitter fills in the space between neurons in the brain and sometimes leads to the symptoms of Schizophrenia.

To find out how the brain is working, doctors use the PET scan.  According to the book, ”Interdisciplinary English, unit six, Mental and Emotional Disorders: Schizophrenia,” this machine works by color to show the doctors activity in the brain.  With changing colors doctors are able to see how well the brain works.  For example: if the PET scan shows a red or yellow color, it means that brain works well.  But when this scan has colors like green or blue, it means that brain isn’t working well, and there’s depressed activity.

Today the scientists devote more attention to children with Schizophrenia because this disorder diseases children as the adult people.  According to the web page, ”American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry”, the symptoms of childhood Schizophrenia are very hard to recognize in the early phases.  Children’s behavior may differ from that of adults with this malady.    The common symptoms of children with Schizophrenia are seeing some things or hearing some voices, which aren’t real.  Children who have a malady like Schizophrenia may have hallucinations.  They may see demons, or hear their voices.  Also they answer questions that aren’t related together.  Children with this illness may start to cling to parents or may become shyer and stay in their own world.

Very often we-parents, or adult people don’t pay enough attention to children’s behavior and some changes in it.  We ignore something that can help us to recognize symptoms of childhood Schizophrenia.  For example: when child says things that do not make sense, or shows us behavior like a younger child, adult people think that child wants to make fun.  They are particularly making mistakes.

My response

Learning about Schizophrenia has been very helpful for me.  According to the many articles about Schizophrenia, I became more educated in the mental diseases.

From my experience I have some examples of Schizophrenic people.  One of them was my neighbor.  He was an 84-year-old man who imagined that he was 31 years old, and tried to do work as a young person does at this age.  He pushed furniture from one corner to another. 

Another example from my childhood is that I remember a man who was sitting in front of our building and cried that he was a president.  At my age at that time I understood that he had some head-illness, but I didn’t know which one.  Now I know what illness this man had.

Also I learned that the only way to reduce the chance of the disease is to learn as much as possible about the disease, the causes, the symptoms and the treatment.  As a parent I should know about this disease and if the disease comes to my children, or me I will know how to deal with it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I got knowledge of the mental disease Schizophrenia.  This is a very serious mental illness and everybody has to be careful with it.  Schizophrenia makes some people completely different from others.  They may do strange things that they aren’t supposed to do in our society.  Schizophrenics don’t really enjoy life like everybody else.  They do not live in a normal atmosphere.  While scientists have not found the cure for this disease, they have discovered treatments to reduce the symptoms of Schizophrenia.  With early diagnosis, medical treatments like antipsychotic drugs and help from a mental health professional and family, Schizophrenic people can feel very well and lead a normal life.  I hope that in the future there will be a cure for this mental disorder.

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Dunelle Lominy
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Describe the mental disorder Schizophrenia. Discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatment of Schizophrenia. Be sure to talk about the biological bases of the disorder.

Schizophrenia is a severe chronic disorder damaging people’s brains.  More than two million Americans suffer from schizophrenia.  The causes are not clearly known but that disease can affect both men and women. When someone has that disease, that person has hallucinations and delusions.  Although schizophrenia is a serious disease, it is treatable.

According to the article on the Mental Health Channel, “There is no sex-related difference for the prevalence of schizophrenia among men and women. The average age for onset, however, differs slightly. For men, it is usually between 15 and 25, while women typically experience its onset between 25 and 35. Onset before age 15 and after age 50 is rare”.  The same article continues, “A person with schizophrenia rarely returns to normalcy and regains complete function after an acute psychotic episode, especially men. Recurrence of acute episode is likely”. These quotes show that schizophrenia does not discriminate when it comes to gender. However, there is a slight difference in the ages it affects as the quotes show.

Someone with schizophrenia may not know that he or she is ill. Friends or families must make sure that the ill person receives the appropriate treatment. Schizophrenia has been treated most successfully with drug therapy, specifically with drugs aimed at controlling the release of dopamine. However, I believe that compassion is the better way to treat people with schizophrenia.

When someone is sick, he or she is responsible for seeking help.  However, in the case of a schizophrenic person, family members should be involved. The reason is that some schizophrenic people are violent.  When someone has paranoid schizophrenia, he or she may be a danger to other people.  In that case, it is the responsibility of family members to take the decision to commit the schizophrenic.  Even if the person does not want to be committed, family members should take the responsibility.  This should be the same for the catatonic schizophrenia or any other sub-types in which the individual poses a danger to others or him/herself.

If the person has simple schizophrenia, I believe that he or she may have some say in the decision because this type of schizophrenia is less harmful.  He should be the primary person responsible for any commitment decisions.  Family members may still be involved a little bit but they should not interfere with the decision of the schizophrenic.  Family members may try to understand the person’s reality and help to influence his/her decision for the best. 

From what I read, I learned about schizophrenia, and how the symptoms are characterized and the impact of the illness. I also learned about the possible treatment. I am going to use what I know about schizophrenia efficiently in the future to guide people who have schizophrenia make decision that may help them get better.   I do not know anyone with schizophrenia but with new knowledge I now know what signs to look for if I meet someone with that disease. And, I will be sure to assist this person in finding a better care professional so they can get the treatment they need.

As we discussed before Schizophrenia is a treatable disease. There are many people who can live almost normal lives once they get treatment and they stay with it. In conclusion, the disease is treatable with diagnosis and hard work by the patient.

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Chen Qiu Xiang (Joanne)
ESL91 DO1B
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Describe the mental disorder Schizophrenia. Discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatment of Schizophrenia. Be sure to talk about the biological bases of the disorder.

Schizophrenia, what is it? What kind of disease? Schizophrenia is a very dangerous disease. Actually there is no cure for schizophrenia. It’s a mental illness. It has the biological bases like diabetes. There are many different factors that cause the disease and the symptoms are very wide. However, there are some medications that can help the people reduce many symptoms of the disease.

Every disease has a cause, but the scientists are still looking for the cause for this serious disease. This disease was no single cause that has been confirmed, but a number of different factors that cause it. The different factors are genetic factors, environmental factors and biochemical factors.

People develop schizophrenia from heredity, which means the risk of factors cannot change. For example, twins where one sibling is schizophrenic would likely have a higher risk to develop schizophrenia because they were separated from one cell. They have 100% identical gerent.

The environmental factors, such as a lifestyle that creates additional stress may bring on a schizophrenic disorder. Schizophrenics have difficulty dealing with stress cause by education or holding a job.              

Biochemical factors also play an important role in causing schizophrenia. Because of the biological bases of the disorder, it is possible to treat it with medication. Schizophrenia is treated with drugs that work on the dopamine-producing neurons, bringing the production to more normal level.  If the person has too much dopamine that would cause the person have schizophrenia. Obviously the dopamine in the brain is very important.

People with schizophrenia may have problems in their perception of reality. The symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations. This symptom is a disturbance of perception that is common in people suffering from schizophrenia. Hallucinations can be heard, seen, or even felt. They are very real, but actually not there; most often they take the form of voices heard only by the afflicted person. Such voices can make the person do things, they warn him or tell him what to do. Delusions are symptoms too. These are false personal beliefs; the schizophrenic may believe that he or she is a famous or important figure Sometimes they think that the people on television send special messages to them. And their symptom is disordered thinking. Schizophrenia often affects a person’s ability to “think”; that makes conversation very difficult. Their speech may be difficult to follow.

Medication can help the people reduce the disease. The medication can improve the function of the people with schizophrenia; the most troubling symptoms are controlled by medication. And the family can also help the people who have schizophrenia out of the trouble. However, if the family takes good care of them it will be better soon.

According to this research I learned a lot of useful information about schizophrenia. It is a very dangerous disease, because the people might hurt themselves. Everybody wants to live in a healthy and peaceful world. I know the people with schizophrenia need their family to take care of them. At the same time I also know that it is important to take good care of myself.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that makes it difficult for people to control their emotional and brain functions well. I hope the scientists will find a good way to cure the disease schizophrenia in the future.

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Tatyana Ilkiv
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Research the neurotransmitter dopamine. Explain how this neurotransmitter works and what its function is in the brain and the body. Be sure to concentrate on how dopamine affects behavior.  What happens when something goes wrong in the system for example, when there is too much or too little dopamine? What treatments are there?

Dopamine is one of the important neurotransmitters in the brain. According to the web page,” http://www.csuchico.edu/psy/BioPsych/dopamine.html,” dopamine is a chemical “messenger”, which is located in the nervous system, and plays a very important function in the brain. Dopamine affects the brain processes that control movement and emotions, including pleasure, pain, learning, memory and physical health.

The nervous system contains billions and billions of neurons. A neuron is a nerve cell, the basic unit of the nervous system. One neuron is separated from another by a tiny space called the synaptic cleft. Since the electrical impulse from one neuron to another cannot cross this space; it crosses as a chemical message by neurotransmitters.  The neurotransmitters transmit information through the function of the synapse from the brain to all the parts of the body.

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that affects a person’s behavior and emotions. The body needs to have a certain amount of dopamine in order to function properly. The body needs to balance out the chemical. When the brain adopts and produces an imbalanced amount of dopamine, it causes problems such as Schizophrenia or Parkinson’s

PARKINSON’S

Less than normal levels of dopamine in the brain lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the brain that affects muscle movement. Parkinson’s disease is caused by the lack of dopamine in the brain. People with Parkinson’s disease do not have enough dopamine in their brains. Without dopamine, the nerve cells cannot transmit messages properly, and this results in the loss of muscle function and damages the part of the brain that controls muscles movement. A person with Parkinson’s disease might shake and have difficulty with walking, movements, and

There is no cure yet, only treatment, which can increase or decrease dopamine and help symptoms. The treatment for a person with Parkinson’s disease starts with the drugs deprenyl, amantadine and other anticholinergics. L-dopa is a medication that is one temporary solution, which can be converted in the brain to dopamine.

SCHIZOPHRENIA

On the other hand, Schizophrenia is caused when the brain produces too much of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by break with reality, unusual behavior and hallucinations. When the brain receives too much dopamine, the nervous system cannot control the person’s behavior and emotions. Behavior and emotions will be unpredictable.   

The treatment for schizophrenic people consists of antypsychotic drugs, which help to balance and control the production and release of dopamine. With treatments, help from mental health professionals and their family, Schizophrenic people can feel very well and lead a normal life.

MY RESPONSE

Learning about the neurotransmitter dopamine has been very interesting and helpful for me.  I learned scientific information about dopamine and the disorders, which it can cause.  I think that I’ll be able to use that knowledge in the future when I start to study in the nursing program.  Also this information helps me in better understanding subjects like psychology and stress management, which I’m studying in this semester.

CONCLUSION

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that transports messages between neurons. Dopamine is a very important neurotransmitter in our brain and body because it affects brain processes that control movement, emotional response, and physical health. In addition it is very important that dopamine in our brain be in balance because an imbalance of dopamine may cause disorders like Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.

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Dunelle Lominy
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Research the neurotransmitter dopamine. Explain how this neurotransmitter works and what its function is in the brain and the body. Be sure to concentrate on how dopamine affects behavior. What happens when something goes wrong in the system for example, when there is too much or too little dopamine? What treatments are there?

According to the text “The Biology of Behavior”, written by Dr L. Kasper in Intedisciplinary English, Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that transmits the messages in the brain. It controls the movement, emotional response, and the ability of gratification and pain. When too little dopamine is transmitted to the brain, it can cause Parkinson’s disease. When there is too much dopamine, it can cause schizophrenia.  There is no cure for schizophrenia or Parkinson’s disease. However, they are treatable.

Neurotransmitters transmit the impulses between the axon of one neuron to the dendrites of the next neuron. The neuron is the basic cell of the central nervous system. A neurotransmitter is a chemical that permits the nervous system to communicate with the rest of the body. Also, the neurons communicate with each other via the synapse, which is a small space between neurons.

Dopamine is a significant messenger; it is a chemical that transfers the message in the brain. When there is an imbalance of dopamine in the brain, it may cause schizophrenia or Parkinson’ disease. People with schizophrenia have too much dopamine, and people with Parkinson’ disease have too little dopamine in their brain.

Dopamine has been linked to the mental disorder, schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia have a chemical imbalance of dopamine in their brain. When too much dopamine is transmitted in the brain, it affects feeling, movements and behavior. Hallucinations and delusions are two common symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenic people cannot think clearly and have disturbances in emotion, perception and behavior.

According to the web site http://www.utexas.edu/research, the “Regulation of dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health. Neurons containing the neurotransmitter dopamine are clustered in the midbrain in an area called the substantia Nigra.  According to the website http://www.csuchico.edu/psy/BioPsych/dopamine.html, They are involved in motor control.  In Parkinson’s disease, the dopamine- transmitting neurons in this area die.” Parkinson’s disease can lead to the reduction of muscle control. People with Parkinson’s disease may have symptoms of flexion, rigidity and tremor. These people tend to hold their heads slightly bent to their chest, with their body bowed.  Their arms, wrists and knees are also often bent. There is a general absence of all motor activity in people with Parkinson’s disease. Their muscles are immobile but their hands tremble. There are other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease; heart palpitations, rapid pulses, sweating, agitation, anxiety and depression.

Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease are two common health problems in the United States caused by one of the major chemical messengers named “dopamine”. There is no cure for these diseases, but both are treatable. For schizophrenia, drugs called antipsychotic decrease the level of dopamine and reduce the symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. On the other hand, the use of a drug called L-Dopa increases the dopamine to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

It is very important for us to learn about dopamine, and how it is important for our brain. The brain is not supposed to have too much or too little dopamine; that can be the cause of schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.

From what I learned about dopamine, I can see that even though a neurotransmitter is important, we may not need a lot of it.  Dopamine is a very important chemical messenger in the brain.  It controls movement, emotion, perception and behavior. However, it needs to be balanced.  Too little is not good; too much is not good either.  However, we do not have control over the dopamine levels in the brain. They are either normal or abnormal. When the dopamine is abnormal, all we can do is to take medications to help balance it out.

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Farida Shamailova
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Research the neurotransmitter dopamine. Explain how this neurotransmitter works and what its function is in the brain and the body. Be sure to concentrate on how dopamine affects behavior. What happens when something goes wrong in the system for example, when there is too much or too little dopamine? What treatments are there?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger between nerve cells in the nervous system. Dopamine plays an important role in our Central Nervous System. Imbalanced dopamine activity can cause brain dysfunction and disease. Scientists have learned that there are connections between dopamine and two major Central Nervous system disorders, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. While there are no cures for these diseases, there are treatments. Drugs can affect dopamine levels, also drugs can stimulate or fail to stimulate dopamine receptors.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical that sends information across the junction or synapse that separates one nerve cell, called a neuron, from another nerve cell. Neurotransmitters send information within the brain and from the brain to all the parts of the body. Neurotransmitters are stored in the nerve cell’s bulbous end called the  axon. When an electrical impulse moving along the nerve reaches the axon, the neurotransmitter is released and moves across the synapse, either motivating or depressing continued electrical impulses along the nerve. According to the text: “Encyclopedia.com” there are more than 300 known neurotransmitters, 5 of them are main chemicals in the brain’s emotion center. They are opioid, gaba, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinepherine. When these chemicals are lowered a dangerous cycle begins within our bodies. Abnormalities in the certain neurotransmitters cause a number of diseases.

Dopamine is produced in the neuron and packaged in containers, called vesicles. As an electrical impulse arrives at the neuron’s terminal, the vesicle moves to the neural membrane and releases its load of dopamine into the synaptic cleft. The synaptic cleft is the gap where an electrical signal jumps from one neuron to another. The dopamine crosses the gap and connects to receiver sites, or receptors, on the membrane of the next neuron. When dopamine occupies a receptor, various actions take place in that neuron: certain ions exit or enter, and certain enzymes are released or inhibited. The result is that a new electrical impulse is generated in this neuron, and the “message” continues on. The activities of dopamine receptors can be induce or reduce by drugs. There are drugs known as dopamine agonists and dopamine antagonists. Dopamine agonists connect to dopamine receptor and directly stimulate those receptors. However dopamine antagonists are drugs that connect but don’t stimulate dopamine receptors.

Regulation of dopamine plays an important role in our mental and physical health. Dopamine affects brain processes that control a person’s behavior, movement and emotions. Dopamine is a hormone that plays a role in feelings of pleasure. The body and the brain are supposed to receive a certain amount of dopamine. Once the amount of dopamine increases or decreases, a person may lose his /her balance or it may change a person physically and emotionally.  These problems may cause diseases such as schizophrenia or Parkinson’s.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness in which a person can lose contact with reality and may experience hallucinations and delusions among other symptoms. According to the scientists many studies have investigated the possible role of brain neurotransmitters in the development of schizophrenia. Most of these studies have focused on the neurotransmitter called dopamine. The scientists believe that schizophrenia is caused by an overactive dopamine system in the brain. When the amount of dopamine increases, a person’s behavior and emotions will be changed and can become very disorganized. While there is no cure for schizophrenia it is a very treatable illness.  Drugs like dopamine antagonists that block dopamine reduce schizophrenic symptoms.

Parkinson’s disease is a disease of the brain that results in muscular rigidity, difficulty with movement initiation, slowness of voluntary movement, difficulty with balance and with walking. This disease was named after the English MD. James Parkinson, the first person, who in 1817 described these symptoms. In PD the neural cells which produce dopamine break down. When these cells start to vanish, the level of dopamine decreases. It was discovered that when dopamine supply is abnormally low, Parkinson’s symptoms start to appear. To help relieve these symptoms, scientists give PD people a drug called L-DOPA that can be converted in the brain to dopamine.

Drugs as cocaine and other drugs of abuse can change dopamine function and may have very different actions. Cocaine and other amphetamines increase the amount of dopamine in the synapse. Cocaine achieves this action by preventing dopamine reuptake, while amphetamine helps to free more dopamine. So, these drugs with the same effects produce their actions through entirely different processes. According to the text: “Dopamine.com” addiction to these two drugs may call for somewhat different types of treatment.

We never think about why we feel different ways. We don’t know actually what happens within our bodies or brain that creates the feeling. Owing to my research I have a clearer understanding about what important role chemicals, for example dopamine, play in our Central Nervous System, and how essential it is to receive the right amount of chemicals such as dopamine. When our brain runs out of these chemicals or when different chemical levels decrease or increase, we experience things like anger, lack of sleep, irritability, anxiety and depression, which cause a number of problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease. Unfortunately some people get even more serious diseases, schizophrenia and PD. are some of them. It would be the best for people who were affected in such diseases to control their right amount of dopamine, so they would not be affected by any of these serious diseases. I hope the treatments will really help diseased people to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

Dopamine controls behavior, movement and emotional response, and the ability to experience pleasure and pain. When the amount of dopamine increases it may cause schizophrenia. But when the level of dopamine is too low it can lend to Parkinson’s diseases. Hopefully in the future these diseases will be cured and there will be more sophisticated drugs that do not just suppress symptoms, but also allow for normal cognitive functioning because the chemical such as dopamine is a very essential in the nervous system.

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Svetlana Kaneava
ESL 91
Spring, 2003

ESSAY TOPIC: Research the neurotransmitter, dopamine. Explain how this neurotransmitter works and what its function is in the body and the brain. Be sure to concentrate on how dopamine affects behavior. What happens when  something goes wrong in the system; for example, when there is too much or too little dopamine? What treatments are there?

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