10B - Causes and treatments
Thursday, March 25, 2021
8:04 AM
*Mini-lecture 1 : The course of schizophrenia
The course of schizophrenia
Premorbid: May show mild cognitive (e.g., attention; working memory), motor (e.g., poor
coordination), and/or social impairments. None are specific to schizophrenia!
Prodromal : up to 85% experience less-severe symptoms in the year or two before
diagnosis. Signs of suspicious, unusual thinking and behavior, social withdrawal…
Onset (Active): Symptoms meet diagnostic criteria. Functioning is impaired. May also be
referred to as a schizophrenic episode (or psychotic episode)
Chronic/Residual: Ongoing and/or recurrent symptoms of schizophrenia. Most experience
multiple episodes. Stabilization is common after 10 years, especially with treatment.
X-axis = Age ; Y-axis = Severity of symptoms ; Yellow = Impairment levels in
each stage
Predictors of a good prognosis
People with schizophrenia who significantly improve often have one or more of the
following characteristics:
o Good functioning before first episode
o Symptoms had a sudden onset and/or developed later in life
o No family history of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
o Fewer negative symptoms
o Good awareness of symptoms and recognition of illness
o Are female (not clear why)
*Mini-lecture 2 : Genetic influences
Genetic influences: It's complicated
Despite what news headlines will often suggest, there's no single "schizophrenia gene"
o Many genes exert small effects; interact with each other in complex ways
Family history and the schizophrenia spectrum
Family, twin, and adoption studies give clear evidence that genes contribute to risk of a
schizophrenia-spectrum disorder
o Risk is not for a specific diagnosis
o Gene x environment interactions!
o Severity of relative's disorder
o Being raised in a supportive home is protective
Thursday, March 25, 2021
8:04 AM
*Mini-lecture 1 : The course of schizophrenia
The course of schizophrenia
Premorbid: May show mild cognitive (e.g., attention; working memory), motor (e.g., poor
coordination), and/or social impairments. None are specific to schizophrenia!
Prodromal : up to 85% experience less-severe symptoms in the year or two before
diagnosis. Signs of suspicious, unusual thinking and behavior, social withdrawal…
Onset (Active): Symptoms meet diagnostic criteria. Functioning is impaired. May also be
referred to as a schizophrenic episode (or psychotic episode)
Chronic/Residual: Ongoing and/or recurrent symptoms of schizophrenia. Most experience
multiple episodes. Stabilization is common after 10 years, especially with treatment.
X-axis = Age ; Y-axis = Severity of symptoms ; Yellow = Impairment levels in
each stage
Predictors of a good prognosis
People with schizophrenia who significantly improve often have one or more of the
following characteristics:
o Good functioning before first episode
o Symptoms had a sudden onset and/or developed later in life
o No family history of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
o Fewer negative symptoms
o Good awareness of symptoms and recognition of illness
o Are female (not clear why)
*Mini-lecture 2 : Genetic influences
Genetic influences: It's complicated
Despite what news headlines will often suggest, there's no single "schizophrenia gene"
o Many genes exert small effects; interact with each other in complex ways
Family history and the schizophrenia spectrum
Family, twin, and adoption studies give clear evidence that genes contribute to risk of a
schizophrenia-spectrum disorder
o Risk is not for a specific diagnosis
o Gene x environment interactions!
o Severity of relative's disorder
o Being raised in a supportive home is protective
