Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Colemen, and Gillberg. "Neuroscience for Kids - Schizophrenia." //UW Faculty Web Server//. Schizophrenia. Web. 17 Sept. 2010. [].


 * “About 1 of every 100 people (1% of the population) is affected by schizophrenia.”
 * “This disorder is found throughout the world and in all races and cultures.”
 * “Schizophrenia has a tremendous cost to society, estimated at $32.5 billion per year in the US.”
 * “The "split mind" refers to the way that people with schizophrenia are split off from reality; they cannot tell what is real and what is not real.”
 * “This change in behavior, when people cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is not, is called "psychosis" or a "psychotic episode.”
 * “A common finding in the brains of people with schizophrenia is larger than normal lateral ventricles.”
 * “The lateral ventricles are part of the [|ventricular system] that contains cerebrospinal fluid.”
 * “Schizophrenia does "run in the family." In other words, schizophrenia has an important genetic component.”
 * “Antipsychotic medications often do not reduce all of the symptoms of schizophrenia.”
 * “Certain Side Effects: Delusions - bizarre, false beliefs”
 * ‘Hallucinations - bizarre, unreal perceptions of the environment”
 * “Disorganized Thinking/Speech Abnormal thoughts are usually measured by disorganized speech. People with schizophrenia speak very little; others have speech that is disjointed. Sometimes the person will change the topic midway through a sentence.”
 * “Negative Symptoms - the absence of normal behavior”
 * “Catatonia - immobility and "waxy flexibility"”
 * “When people show any of these five symptoms, they are considered to be in the ** "active phase" ** of the disorder. Often people with schizophrenia have milder symptoms before and after the active phase.”