NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Analysis of the Anti-psychiatric Approach or Perspective to Schizophrenia and the Conventional Approach There are several approaches of studying and evaluating the concept of schizophrenia that help scholars get deeper insights of the disease and find possible better solutions. The nervous system, as described in Tabers Cyclopedia Dictionary, is a system of extremely delicate nerve cells, elaborately interlaced with each other. More specifically, it functions to regulate and coordinate body activities, as well as to adjust to both external and internal environment changes. It is made up collectively of the brain, cranial nerves, spinal cord, spinal nerves, and other areas that help maintain reception and response to stimuli.
Once a change in the body is detected, nerves carry this information to the brain via axons (a process of a neuron that conducts impulses away from a cell body and towards the brain) and nerve fibers. These changes are then interpreted by brain receptors, which then send impulses back along nerve fibres to the bodys sensory organs such as the eyes, ears and sensory receptors located in the skin, joints, or muscles. Thus, the nervous system acts like the information highway of the body in the sense that it receives all information pertaining to regulation of the body, and it also sends out impulses which aid our actions, coordination and homeostasis. The nervous system consists of two divisions: the Central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord; and the peripheral nervous system, which includes most other neural elements. The Central nervous system (otherwise known as CNS) also helps to control both voluntary and involuntary actions. This includes regulating the parts of the brain that control consciousness and mental activities.
Nerves which transmit messages to the brain (or to the CNS from the peripheral nervous system) are called afferent nerves. Efferent nerves compliment the afferent nerves by carrying messages from the brain (or CNS) towards the body to bring about such effects as muscle contraction, gland secretion, etc Efferent nerves are more commonly known by the name Motor nerves because of their involvement in motor coordination. As previously stated, both afferent and efferent nerves are responsible for carrying out the functions of the body, yet, while each has their own function, more commonly than not, both types of nerves will work together to accomplish an action. The afferent nerves act as the messenger while the efferent nerves respond to stimulus. Efferent nerves are further subdivided into two categories: Somatic (or voluntary) and Autonomic (or involuntary) nerves. Somatic functions include walking and talking whereas autonomic nerves are responsible for tasks such as digestion and regulating heart contractions.
Within the Autonomic nervous system, there are two concluding sub-divisions that will be mentioned: the sympathetic and para-sympathetic systems. The sympathetic system is mainly concerned with fight or flight's iterations. In an instance like this, the body reacts to unusually high levels of stress which, as the name suggests, could occur during a physical attack. In order for the body to prepare to defend for itself, blood flow increases to muscles, and a person will experience an increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and a slowing of internal functions such as digestion. Once the period of stress is over, the para-sympathetic system acts to restore the body to its normal homeostasis: the heart rate slows, blood pressure reduces and the body will restart digestion. Therefore, while the two systems oppose each other, they work together to ensure the body's ability to survive.
According to the Biological approach, most mental illnesses are caused by bodily disturbances. Researchers using this approach look for mental irregularities, abnormalities in the brain, defects in neuro transmissions and if the autonomic nervous system is functioning properly. For example, if a patient were diagnosed with depression, this would be diagnosed as too little / too much neurological activity in the specified regions of the brain, and would normally be treated with anti-depressant drugs. Within the biological approach, there are two major classes of mental disorders: major depressions and schizophrenia.
Both are believed to be largely hereditary disorders, caused by functional and chemical abnormalities. Schizophrenia, the most abundant form of mental disorder, is biologically thought to be due to excessive activity in cortical pathways such as the hypothalamus, midbrain or frontal cortex. Symptoms include delusions, deranged thoughts and demented concepts of the self. Drugs that reduce or block transmissions within the dopaminergic synapses (e. g. haloperidol or other antipsychotic drugs) are the most effective treatment for most types of schizophrenia.
These drugs aim to reduce the amount of usable dopamine in the brain which tries not to cure the disease, but to reduce its symptoms. In contrast, drugs that increase synaptic transmission (such as amphetamines or high doses of cocaine) can cause paranoid / schizoid behavior, even in normal humans. When comparing the biological approach to schizophrenia to the psychoanalytic approach, evidence indicates that schizophrenia is not just a biological disorder. Schizophrenia is believed to be hereditary, yet studies reveal this not to be wholly true.
The identical twin of a schizophrenic is 3 times as likely as a fraternal twin, and 46 times as likely as an unrelated person to develop schizophrenia. Nevertheless, less than half of the identical twins of schizophrenics develop schizophrenia themselves, even though the have the same genes and DNA. In addition, numerous studies in the USA have proven that schizophrenia is significantly more common among the lower classes than within the middle and upper classes. Given the data above, it can be concluded that the biological approach is able to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia, yet also that ones external environment must also contribute to whether or not the symptoms actually manifest themselves. The biological approach is one of several ways to understand the human brain, its functions and also its complications.
To understand this approach, one needs first to examine the structures of the nervous system, the chemical processes of the brain, and lastly how a chemical change in the brain can affect overall mental and physical homeostasis. The biological approach is able to diagnose and treat the symptoms of mental disorders, yet it cannot explain how one's external environment, genes or social class determine if a mental illness, such as schizophrenia, will affect ones mental health. Perhaps someday a biological understanding of the brain will be complete. In the meantime, the cognitive, behavioral, psychoanalytic and phenomenological approaches will continue to compliment our working knowledge of the brain, as well as treatments for patients who suffer from its complications.
Bibliography: Atkinson, Rita L. Hilgards Introduction to Psychology (12 th Edition). Orlando: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996. Gray, Henry F. R. S.
Gray's Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical. Philadelphia: Running Press, 1974. Guys, Barbara and Mary Ellen Wedding. Medical Terminology: A Systems Approach (3 rd Edition). Philadelphia: F. A.
Davis Company, 1995. Kapit, Wynn and Lawrence M. Elson. The Anatomy Colouring Book (2 nd Edition).
New York: Harper Collins, 1993. Kapit, Wynn and Robert I. Macey and Email Miami. The Physiology Coloring Book. New York: Harper Collins, 1987. Raudsepp, Eugene.
Left Brain / Right Brain Inventory. Survey handed out by Professor Chris Fitzgerald, Webster University Leiden, the Netherlands, 1998. Thomas, Clayton L. M. D. , M. P.
H. (editor) Tabers Cyclopedia Medical Dictionary. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company, 1993.
Free research essays on topics related to: central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, york harper collins, develop schizophrenia, spinal cord
Research essay sample on York Harper Collins Peripheral Nervous System
