dopamine

• evidence for the dopamine hypothesis comes from drugs which have been effective in treating schixophrenia. For example anti-psychotics work by binding to D2 receptors vlocking nerve impulse transmission and have a 60% success rate in reducing positve symptoms -this effectiveness of anti psychotics strongly suggests that there is a link between neurotransmitters and schixophrenia symptoms supporting this theory,
• however blocking D2 receptors doesn't help 40% of people. it also doesnt affect the negative symtpoms so dopamine can't explain all elements of schizophrenia.there is the suggestion that otehr neurotransmitter, like gultamate may be involved. For example newer developments in anti-psychotic drugs affect other neurotransmitters like seretonin and glutamate as well as dopamine.

  there is strong evidence, post mortem and live scanning studies have frequently found raised levels of glutamate in serveral brain regions Therefore it seems like several neurotransmitter may be involved in the development of schizophrenia emaning the dopamine hypothesis is too simplistic and looking into glutamate for example may provide better treatements
• research evidence from autopsies has shown that schixophrenia sufferers have more dopmaine recedptors which may lead to more neural firing and therefore an overproduction of messages . Further support comes from the fact that dopamine agonists can produce schixophrenia like symptoms in non-sufferers, and sufferers of parkinsions, give l-dopa to raise dopamine emphasing that dopamine plays a signififcnat role in teh development of schixophrenia symptoms. COversely anti-psycjotics ...