Problem 3: A Beautiful Mind
A clinical presentation of schizophrenia includes delusions, hallucinations, disorganized or
abnormal behaviour, disorganized thought and speech, and negative symptoms. For a
diagnosis of schizophrenia, at least 2 of the 5 symptoms must be present for at least 1 month. In
addition, the symptoms must impair a person’s daily functioning such as in employment or self-
care. It must be also noted that the earlier it is diagnosed, the worse the prognosis can be.
Delusions → a disturbance in the content of thoughts in which a person believes certain
things despite concrete contradictory evidence. Delusions can be isolated beliefs, but they can
also form complex systems between them. A patient can suffer from different types of delusions:
• Delusions of grandeur, believing they have exceptional, or even divine abilities.
• Delusions of control, believing that others control their thoughts, emotions, or
actions.
• Delusions of persecution, believing their being persecuted by people or institutions.
• Delusions of reference, believing that messages are being transmitted to them
through various forms of media.
• Delusions of thought broadcasting, believing that their thoughts are being
broadcasted to the public.
• Delusions of thought withdrawal, believing that their thoughts are being extracted by
people or institutions.
• Delusions of thought insertion, believing that thoughts are being implanted into
them by other people or institutions.
• Delusions of bodily changes, believing that changes are occurring in their body such
as organs being removed or stop working.
Hallucinations → sensory experiences in the absence of an external stimulus to elicit
them. They can occur across all sensory modalities – auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile, or
gustatory. The most common are auditory hallucinations, and second are visual hallucinations.
Olfactory, tactile, and gustatory hallucinations are the least common.
Auditory hallucinations can either have the voice of a person who is familiar or unfamiliar to
the patient. Research suggests that the reasons behind auditory hallucinations could be
increased activity in Broca’s area and reduced gray matter in brain areas dedicated to auditory
and speech perception. Conclusively, auditory hallucinations are a person’s inner speech being
misinterpreted as somebody else talking to them.
Disorganised Behaviour → a disruption in the patient’s goal-oriented activity leads to
impairment of their routine daily functioning. In some cases, patients may hold unusual postures
for extended periods, or fall into catatonic stupors, during which they will not move or speak.
A clinical presentation of schizophrenia includes delusions, hallucinations, disorganized or
abnormal behaviour, disorganized thought and speech, and negative symptoms. For a
diagnosis of schizophrenia, at least 2 of the 5 symptoms must be present for at least 1 month. In
addition, the symptoms must impair a person’s daily functioning such as in employment or self-
care. It must be also noted that the earlier it is diagnosed, the worse the prognosis can be.
Delusions → a disturbance in the content of thoughts in which a person believes certain
things despite concrete contradictory evidence. Delusions can be isolated beliefs, but they can
also form complex systems between them. A patient can suffer from different types of delusions:
• Delusions of grandeur, believing they have exceptional, or even divine abilities.
• Delusions of control, believing that others control their thoughts, emotions, or
actions.
• Delusions of persecution, believing their being persecuted by people or institutions.
• Delusions of reference, believing that messages are being transmitted to them
through various forms of media.
• Delusions of thought broadcasting, believing that their thoughts are being
broadcasted to the public.
• Delusions of thought withdrawal, believing that their thoughts are being extracted by
people or institutions.
• Delusions of thought insertion, believing that thoughts are being implanted into
them by other people or institutions.
• Delusions of bodily changes, believing that changes are occurring in their body such
as organs being removed or stop working.
Hallucinations → sensory experiences in the absence of an external stimulus to elicit
them. They can occur across all sensory modalities – auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile, or
gustatory. The most common are auditory hallucinations, and second are visual hallucinations.
Olfactory, tactile, and gustatory hallucinations are the least common.
Auditory hallucinations can either have the voice of a person who is familiar or unfamiliar to
the patient. Research suggests that the reasons behind auditory hallucinations could be
increased activity in Broca’s area and reduced gray matter in brain areas dedicated to auditory
and speech perception. Conclusively, auditory hallucinations are a person’s inner speech being
misinterpreted as somebody else talking to them.
Disorganised Behaviour → a disruption in the patient’s goal-oriented activity leads to
impairment of their routine daily functioning. In some cases, patients may hold unusual postures
for extended periods, or fall into catatonic stupors, during which they will not move or speak.
