Neural Correlates

• The neural correlates explanation of SZ looks at the correlation between the structure and/or function of various part of the brain and the severity of SZ symptoms
• Early research into neural correlates shows that recreational amphetamines increased both DA and psychosis symptoms
• The updates DA hypothesis suggests SZ is linked to either an excess or shortage of DA in certain areas of the brain
• Hyperdopaminergia (excessive amounts of dopamine) in speech centre like Broca's area may lead to auditory hallucinations
• Hypodopaminergia (shortage of dopamine) in areas like the frontal cortex are linked to negative symptoms like avolition or speech poverty
• Enlarged Ventricles have also been correlated with Schizophrenia
• AO3- Gottesman found a concordance rate for SZ of 48% for monozygotic (MZ) twins and 17% for dizygotic (DZ) twins. This suggests that there are genetic factors- however, as the concordance rate is less than 100% for MZ twins (MZ share 100% DNA), there must also be a role for environmental factors
• AO3- Tienari studied the biological children of schizophrenic mothers who had been adopted, finding 5.8% of children adopted into psychologically healthy families developed SZ compared to 36.8% of children raised in dysfunctional families. This supports the influence of biological factors due to the high rate, even in psychologically healthy families. Still, the higher figure for dysfunctional families suggests a psychological trigger is a factor
• AO3- In a meta-analysis including 212 studies, Leucht found that drug treatments that work via normalising dopamine levels were more effective than a placebo. The efficacy (positive outcomes) of treatments directly influencing the dopamine system supports the dopamine hypothesis
• AO3- A diathesis-stress approach to explaining SZ is more likely to be valid than biology alone; this suggests the root cause is a biological/ genetic weakness. However, an environmental stressor, such as family stress, must be present to trigger the disorder