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Dementia praecox was reconstituted as schizophrenia, paranoia was renamed as delusional disorder and manic-depressive insanity as bipolar disorder (epilepsy was transferred from psychiatry to neurology). The 'mental symptoms' included under the concept schizophrenia are real enough, affect people, and will always need understanding and treatment.
Given the high numbers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (nearly 1% of modern-day populations), it is unlikely that the disorder has arisen solely from random mutations. [2] Instead it is believed that, despite its maladaptive nature, schizophrenia has been either selected for throughout the years or exists as a selective by-product.
The disadvantageous-byproduct view hypothesizes that schizophrenia started to occur when humans diverged from primates. According to this view, schizophrenia symptoms are extreme versions of normal social behaviors. [6] Symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions are extreme versions of cognitive processes that can be greatly beneficial.
'This will turn out to be the most important break in the disease,' the Broad Institute's director Eric Lander said.
The causes of schizophrenia that underlie the development of schizophrenia, a psychiatric disorder, are complex and not clearly understood.A number of hypotheses including the dopamine hypothesis, and the glutamate hypothesis have been put forward in an attempt to explain the link between altered brain function and the symptoms and development of schizophrenia.
There has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of older adults with schizophrenia. [76] Onset may happen suddenly or may occur after the slow and gradual development of a number of signs and symptoms, a period known as the prodromal stage. [10] Up to 75% of those with schizophrenia go through a prodromal stage. [77]
Laws were introduced to compel authorities to deal with those judged insane by family members and hospital superintendents. Although originally based on the concepts and structures of moral treatment, they became large impersonal institutions overburdened with large numbers of people with a complex mix of mental and social-economic problems. [58]
Numbers were similar in Britain and Germany. [52] Overcrowding was rampant in France, where asylums would commonly take in double their maximum capacity. [ 53 ] Increases in asylum populations may have been a result of the transfer of care from families and poorhouses , but the specific reasons as to why the increase occurred are still debated ...