{"id":119,"date":"2023-06-13T11:42:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T11:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/?p=119"},"modified":"2023-06-13T13:58:57","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T13:58:57","slug":"a-case-study-of-schizophrenia-aneja-et-al-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/a-case-study-of-schizophrenia-aneja-et-al-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetic Explanation of Schizophrenia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">The Explanation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Schizophrenia has a strong genetic component.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Monozygotic<\/strong> (identical) twins have a <strong>higher concordance rate <\/strong>for schizophrenia as compared to dizygotic (fraternal) twins.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gottesman and Shields<\/strong> analyzed 24 sets of MZ twins and 33 sets of DZ twins from a sample of 467 twins registered at a hospital in London. They found that <strong>around 50% of MZ twins<\/strong> shared a schizophrenic status, while <strong>only about 9% of DZ twins<\/strong> did.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genome-wide association studies (<strong>GWAS<\/strong>) have identified <strong>multiple gene<\/strong> variants associated with schizophrenia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Schizophrenia is a <strong>polygenic condition<\/strong>, meaning it involves thousands of gene variants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many of the genes linked to schizophrenia are involved in the synthesis, transportation, and breakdown of neurotransmitters like <strong>dopamine<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>DiGeorge syndrome<\/strong>, which involves a deletion on <strong>chromosome 22<\/strong>, increases the risk of developing schizophrenia.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In this syndrome, the <strong>COMT gene<\/strong>, which codes for an enzyme involved in <strong>dopamine breakdown<\/strong> is found to be deleted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> Another gene, the <strong>DISC1 gene<\/strong> may increase the risk of schizophrenia by affecting the neurotransmitter <strong>GABA<\/strong>, which regulates dopamine activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Relevant Issues and Debates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Individual and Situational Explanations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genetic explanation is <strong>purely individual<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengths<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When comparing identical and non-identical twins, higher schizophrenia rates in identical twins suggest genetic influence, guiding <strong>prevention<\/strong> of the disorder;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DiGeorge syndrome with COMT gene deletion links to increased risk of schizophrenia, encouraging genetic testing for <strong>early identification<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genes are important, but not enough to explain schizophrenia. <strong>Other factors are involved too<\/strong>, such as cognitive style;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Schizophrenia <strong>genetics are complicated<\/strong>, with many genes involved, making it hard to understand the disorder through genes\u00a0 alone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nature versus Nurture<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Genetic explanation supports <strong>only nature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengths<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When comparing identical and non-identical twins, higher schizophrenia rates in identical twins suggest genetic influence, guiding <strong>prevention<\/strong> of the disorder;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DiGeorge syndrome with COMT gene deletion links to increased risk of schizophrenia, encouraging genetic testing for <strong>early identification<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genes and the environment work together. <strong>Genetic differences can be affected by environmental factors<\/strong> like stress or trauma;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MZ twins are treated more similarly<\/strong> than DZ twins by parents because of their same gender and appearance, so it&#8217;s hard to tell if differences are from genes or environment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reductionism versus Holism<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Genetic explanation is <strong>reductionist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengths<\/strong>\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Focusing on specific genes such as COMT in schizophrenia helps us understand its genetic causes better and find <strong>targeted treatments<\/strong> such as those reducing dopamine levels;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Finding specific genes for measurement like COMT and DISC1 helps <strong>scientific investigation <\/strong>and knowledge advancement about role of genes in schizophrenia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Focusing on genes and chemicals <strong>oversimplifies schizophrenia<\/strong>, ignoring its complexity with cognitive,environmental and social factors;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reducing schizophrenia to genes overlooks the impact of stress, trauma, substance abuse, and social factors on the disorder, <strong>reducing generalizability<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Determinism versus Free Will<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genetic Explanation is <strong>determinist<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengths<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genes play a big role in schizophrenia based on studies of families and twins. DNA determines susceptibility, <strong>reducing the tendency to blame<\/strong> the individual;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>COMT and DISC\u00a0 gene variations are linked to schizophrenia, showing a genetic tendency for the disorder. Thus, <strong>genetic risk can be controlled<\/strong> to prevent the disorder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Schizophrenia is caused by many genes working together, but <strong>no single gene determines<\/strong> it completely. This challenges the deterministic explanation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Schizophrenia is not only influenced by genes but <strong>also by environmental factors<\/strong> like stress or trauma, making the explanation <strong>reductionist<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Idiographic versus Nomothetic<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strength<\/strong>s\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Large-scale studies<\/strong> like family, twin, and genome-wide association studies have found strong evidence for role of genes in schizophrenia, <strong>increasing validity<\/strong>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Data has been gathered in these studies from <strong>very large and diverse samples<\/strong>, increasing generalizability to populations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nomothetic approach <strong>ignores personal experiences <\/strong>and individual differences in schizophrenia&#8217;s development and symptoms;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nomothetic approach <strong>oversimplifies complex factors<\/strong> in schizophrenia, ignoring how genetics, environment, and psychology interact to cause the disorder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:5px\">search terms &#8211; a levels psychology; schizophrenia, Gottesman and Shields, genetic explanation of schizophrenia, COMT, DISC, 1.1.2, issues and debates, as and a psychology; psychology and organizations; paper 3; paper 4; igcse psychology; application to everyday life; strengths of application to everyday life; weaknesses of application to everyday life; gcse psychology; cie psychology; cambridge 12 psychology; a2 psychology; new syllabus; 2024-26 syllabus; 2024 9990 syllabus; 9990 curriculum; new 9990 syllabus; 9990 psychology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this lesson, I present a description and discussion of relevant issues and debates for the A2 clinical psychology topic, &#8220;genetic explanation of schizophrenia.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[13,10,9],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a2-clinical-psychology","tag-genetic-explanations","tag-issues-and-debates","tag-schizophrenia"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128,"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciealevels.excellingpsychology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}