Posted by med_empowered on February 22, 2005, at 17:31:15
In reply to Re: Why I Hate Neuroleptics and Forced Hosptialization, posted by banga on February 22, 2005, at 16:47:43
hey! OK, here's the deal: schizophrenia MAY be caused by some sort of brain abnormality. The problem lies not in arguing this possibility, but in arguing that this is the ONLY possibility and that this has been established. It hasn't. To date, there have been been no studies finding inconclusive evidence firmly linking observed abnormalities to this malady. There have been observations of various "abnormalities," but nothing that has risen to the level of PROOF. There hasn't even been found an abnormality that is strongly correlated with schizophrenia.
As for genes...this is debatable. All the twin studies that have shown that genes may play a factor have also suggested that environment may also play a factor- a BIG factor. This is huge. Whenever you look at statistics, you must be careful not to confuse CORRELATION with CAUSATION. So, yes, there seems to be a genetic correlation...no one will deny that. However, this does not prove that genes CAUSE an individual to develop schizophrenia; it simply indicates that having close relatives with the disorder appears to play a role. What this seems to mean is that since genes have not been proved to CAUSE schizophrenia, external factors may play a huge role....factor in the current lack of any sort of brain abnormality proven to cause schizophrenia or even one that is strongly correlated with its development, and all one can really say is this: thoughts and behaviors labelled as "schizophrenia" may occur in some individuals due in part to genetic factors.
poster:med_empowered
thread:461854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050222/msgs/461910.html