Schizophrenia - Biological Explanations
for Schizophrenia
1. A limitation is that there is mixed support for the dopamine hypothesis - ✔✔-
dopamine agonists like amphetamines increase dopamine levels and make SZ
worse, also causing sz-like symptoms in non-sufferers
2. antipsychotics, which act as dopamine antagonists and so reduce dopamine
activity, reduce the symptoms of SZ, suggesting that dopamine has a key role
in its development, in line with the predictions of the dopamine hypothesis.
3. -On the other hand, some researchers such as Moghaddam and Javitt (2012)
have criticised the dopamine hypothesis and biological explanations of SZ as
emphasising the role of dopamine too far.
4. For example, the neurotransmitters glutamate and serotonin may also play a
key role, as evidenced by the antipsychotic Clozapine acting upon both of
these substances and being more effective than other atypical antipsychotics
in reducing SZ symptoms
5. A limitation is the correlation-causation problem - ✔✔The question that
remains is whether unusual activity in the brain causes the symptoms or
whether there are other possible explanations for the correlation.
6. A negative correlation may suggest low activity in the ventral striatum causes
avolition.
