Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia

What did Gottesman's research on family studies find about the concordance rate of schizophrenia in monozygotic (MZ) twins?

• 19%

• 48%

• 60%

• 75%

According to Gottesman's research, what is the concordance rate of schizophrenia in dizygotic (DZ) twins?

• 12%

• 17%

• 31%

• 46%

The dopamine hypothesis suggests that dopamine causes ​ (a)   symptoms such as ​ ​ (b)   and ​ (c)   .

• positive
• negative
• hallucinations
• disorganised speech
• speech poverty
• avolition
• affective flattening

The dopamine hypothesis suggests that schizophrenia is linked to:

• Excess dopamine activity

• Reduced dopamine activity

• Excess serotonin activity

• Reduced serotonin activity

What structural brain abnormality is associated with negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

• Reduced white matter in the pre-frontal cortex

• Reduced gray matter in the pre-frontal cortex

• Increased white matter in the occipital lobe

• Reduced gray matter in the occipital lobe

Auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia are thought to be linked to abnormalities in which brain region?

• Occipital lobe

• Parietal lobe

• Temporal lobe

• Frontal lobe

What is the main focus of the neural correlates explanation of schizophrenia?

• Genetic inheritance

• Neurotransmitter imbalances

• Structural and functional abnormalities in the brain

• All of the above

Which of the following findings supports the genetic explanation of schizophrenia?

• Higher concordance rates in MZ twins compared to DZ twins

• Increased dopamine activity in the brain

• Reduced gray matter in the pre-frontal cortex

• Auditory hallucinations linked to the temporal lobe

Which brain region's reduced gray matter is associated with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

• Temporal lobe

• Parietal lobe

• Pre-frontal cortex

• Occipital lobe

Answer explanation

The answer is pre-frontal cortex because this plays a role in personality and motivation which is linked to the negative symptom of avolition.

Which of the following symptoms is considered a positive symptom of schizophrenia?

• Social withdrawal

• Reduced motivation

• Hallucinations

• Flat affect