nd will blunt their emotions” (Torrey, 1983). The part of the brain is thought to be affected by schizophrenia is the limbic system. It was realized that the limbic system might be the source of the malfunction when it was discovered that all the information and incoming stimuli must pass through the limbic system before being sorted out. Previously thee limbic system was disregarded, and considered simply a remnant of our primitive past.” At that time the outer areas, the gray matter of the brain, was studied”(Torrey, 1983). Occasionally schizophrenia runs in the family, although it is not well understood how. “It is known that close relatives (parents, siblings) of those with schizophrenia, have a 10 % chance of developing symptoms, compared to the 1% chance of the general population” (Torrey, 1983). Not much is known about what exactly causes schizophrenia, or which parts of the brain are affected. One guess to the cause of schizophrenia is that neurotransmitter dopamine is involved. “Some of the supporting evidence behind this theory is the fact that amphetamines, when given in large doses, causes the brain’s dopamine levels to rise, this can cause the subject to show schizophrenia like symptoms” (Torrey, 1983). There are three different fields of thought as to how something is affecting the dopamine and causing schizophrenia. One is that there is excess of the neurotransmitter in the brain. The final thought is that The dopamine is somehow being turned into a poison (Torrey, 1983).A chemical imbalance of dopamine could very well be the cause of schizophrenia. If the levels are too high, there could be excess dopamine left in the synaptic gap. If the levels of were too low, signals needing dopamine to be transferred would not be received.Even though the causes of schizophrenia are not confirmed, it is important to properly diagnose it so proper medical treatment can be sought. When ...
