What Is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality, which can be frightening for both the person and those around them.
Core Symptoms:
- Positive symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking or speech
- Negative symptoms: Flat affect, lack of motivation, reduced speaking or emotional expression
- Cognitive symptoms: Poor executive functioning, trouble focusing, memory problems
Unlike bipolar disorder, schizophrenia does not involve mood episodes. However, a person may experience mood-related symptoms such as depression, particularly when negative symptoms are prominent.
What Causes These Conditions?
While the exact cause of bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia remains unclear, both are believed to involve a combination of genetic, environmental, and neurochemical factors.
The Role of Dopamine
A key common factor in both disorders is dopamine imbalance. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, motivation, attention, and reward.
- In bipolar mania, dopamine levels are thought to be elevated, contributing to high energy and impulsivity.
- In schizophrenia, excess dopamine activity in certain brain regions is linked to hallucinations and delusions.
This is why many treatments for both conditions aim to regulate dopamine activity in the brain.
How Aripiprazole (Abilify) Works
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