FILAMER CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

AUTONOMOUS STATUS - CHED

GRADUATE SCHOOL
Roxas Avenue, Roxas City 5800, Philippines
Tel. No. (036) 6212-317 Fax No. (036) 6213-075
Website: http://www.filamer.edu.ph/

EDUC 402
ADVANCED SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

THE GENETICS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

IRVING GOTTESMAN

FRANCIS DONN G. MONTAÑEZ MAT-SPED

GILCON M. CALONIA MAT-SPED
Researchers have found a link between mental
illness and creativity at the neurological level,
identifying similar characteristics between
‘creative’ psychic processes and mental
pathologies.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise some artists
have revolutionized the history of art while being
plagued by psychological disorders.
IRVING I. GOTTESMAN ( 1930-2016)
• Irving I. Gottesman is known internationally for his work in
the field of behavioral and psychiatric genetics.
• American psychologist and behaviour geneticist who radically
changed traditional views of schizophrenia
• His research has focused on the many ways that genetic
factors interact with and augment environmental influences
that lead to endophenotypes for psychopathology.
• In 1966, at the University of Minnesota, Gottesman created
the United States’ first academic program on human
behavioral genetics.
• His pioneering focus drew burgeoning attention to — and
funding for — cross-disciplinary approaches to psychological
science.
• Gottesman became interested in genetics in the mid-1950s,
straying from the Freudian zeitgeist that then dominated
behavioral research.
• His first extensive study of the genetics of schizophrenia followed
British patients in the Maudsley-Bethlem hospital’s registry of
twin admissions.
• By comparing sets of identical twins, who share the same genetic
profile, with fraternal twins, whose genes differ, he confirmed
that genes were an undeniable factor in predisposition for
schizophrenia.
THE SCHIZOPHRENIA GENESIS
THE ORIGIN OF MADNESS (1990)
• Gottesman draws on the latest genetic and environmental
research, and on recent findings from neurobiology, to investigate
the origins of schizophrenia.
• He argues that the disorder can be understood only by considering
both the genetic evidence and the familial and societal pressures
associated with schizophrenia's onset and course.
• Included are discussions of the diagnostic controversies that have
swirled around schizophrenia, genetic counseling, and social
policies affecting all those touched by the disorder.
SCHIZOPHRENIA:
AN OVERVIEW
PSYCHOSIS
• Psychosis, including schizophrenia, is
characterised by distortions in thinking,
perception, emotions, language, sense of
self and behaviour.
• During a psychotic episode, a person may
experience hallucinations and delusions.
SCHIZOPHRENIA
•Schizophrenia involves a range of problems
with thinking (cognition), behavior and
emotions.
•Signs and symptoms may vary, but usually
involve delusions, hallucinations or
disorganized speech, and reflect an
impaired ability to function.
DELUSIONS
• These are false beliefs that are not based in reality.
• For example, you think that you're being harmed or
harassed; certain gestures or comments are directed
at you; you have exceptional ability or fame;
another person is in love with you; or a major
catastrophe is about to occur.
• Delusions occur in most people with schizophrenia.
HALLUCINATIONS
• These usually involve seeing or hearing
things that don't exist. Yet for the person
with schizophrenia, they have the full force
and impact of a normal experience.
• Hallucinations can be in any of the senses,
but hearing voices is the most common
hallucination.
DISORGANIZED THINKING
( SPEECH )
• Disorganized thinking is inferred from disorganized
speech.
• Effective communication can be impaired, and
answers to questions may be partially or completely
unrelated.
• Rarely, speech may include putting together
meaningless words that can't be understood,
sometimes known as word salad.
Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor
behavior.
• This may show in a number of ways, from childlike silliness
to unpredictable agitation.
• Behavior isn't focused on a goal, so it's hard to do tasks.
• Behavior can include resistance to instructions,
inappropriate or bizarre posture, a complete lack of
response, or useless and excessive movement (CATATONIA)
NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS
• This refers to reduced or lack of ability to function
normally.
• For example, the person may neglect personal hygiene
or appear to lack emotion (doesn't make eye contact,
doesn't change facial expressions or speaks in a
monotone).
• Also, the person may lose interest in everyday
activities, socially withdraw or lack the ability to
experience pleasure.
CAUSES
The exact causes of schizophrenia is
unknown but researchers have uncovered
a number of things that appear to make
someone more likely to get the condition.
• GENETICS( HEREDITY )
• BRAIN CHEMISTRY AND CIRCUITS
• BRAIN ABNORMALITY
• ENVIRONMENT
Diathesis-Stress Model
• Paul Meehl, in the 1960s, applied this approach to explain
the origins of schizophrenia.
• The diathesis-stress model is a theory suggesting that mental
disorders and medical conditions are caused by a
combination of an inherent predisposition and and the
person's experience of stress.
• Also known as the vulnerability-stress model, it is a
framework for understanding how existing vulnerabilities
and environmental stresses interact to influence mental
health conditions.
• There seems to be a genetic predisposition towards
schizophrenia which is heritable (passed down in genes
from parent to child).
• redisposition doesn't mean you automatically develop
the illness. Instead, there must be a trigger to activate
the gene.
Common triggers include:
• Drug abuse (such as new types of potent cannabis)
• Stress
• Family tensions
THERE IS A THIN LINE BETWEEN
SANITY AND MADNESS.
GOTTESMAN
&
SHIELDS
(1966)
A
TWIN STUDY:
THE GENETIC
CAUSE OF
SCHIZOPHRENIA
• This twin study was carried out by Irving
Gottesman and James Shields in the 1960s.
• It was a key piece of research that
established that there is a genetic
component to the mental illness
schizophrenia.
• Psychologists used to think schizophrenia
was learned and often blamed bad
parenting.
This research is significant for students in
other ways:
• It shows how scientific research proceeds, because
Gottesman & Shields tested the hypothesis that there is
a genetic component to schizophrenia by comparing
MZ and DZ twins, where one twin had the illness
• It illustrates the use of a natural experiment to study
something that cannot be manipulated in the lab
• However, it illustrates the reliability problems in twin
studies from before the widespread use of DNA testing.
AIMS
OF
THE

STUDY
•To find out if there is a genetic basis
for schizophrenia.
•To replicate previous twin studies into
schizophrenia to test their reliability.
• In particular, the researcher looks for concordance rates in
MZ twins where one suffered from schizophrenia and
compared these to concordance rates in DZ twins to see if
there was a significant difference which would be explained
by genes..
 IV
• This is an independent groups design, since it
looks at the difference between DZ twins and MZ
twins. Because zygocity is a naturally-occurring
variable, this is a natural experiment.
DV
• The researcher's measured the concordance rate
for pairs of twins in four different categories.
SAMPLING
• 62 schizophrenic patients, half male, half female
and all aged 19 to 64. All had been patients at a
large London hospital between 1948 and 1964
and all had a twin.
• The researchers originally identified 68 but had
to reduce this because some were now out of
the country or else it was impossible to tell if
they were MZ or DZ twins.
PROCEDURE
• The researchers had to assign each twin pair to either
MZ or DZ conditions. Zygocity was determined by:
fingerprint testing (different patterns suggest DZ)
blood testing (different blood groups means DZ)
physical resemblance (different hair/eye colour
and sex means DZ)
• 24 MZ twin pairs and 33 DZ twin pairs were identified.
Mental health in the twin was measured by
a range of tests:
• hospital notes
• questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with
twins and parents
• 30 minute tape recording of speech, to identify language
problems (a negative symptom)
• personality testing
• psychometric testing to measured disorganised thinking
(a positive symptom)
RESULTS
• The schizophrenic twin was termed the proband.
The other twin was assessed for psychotic mental
health problems and put into one of four categories:

*A proband is an individual who is affected by a genetic

condition or who is concerned they are at risk.
 MORBIDITY RISK FOR
SCHIZOPHRENIA IN RELATIVES OF
SCHIZOPHRENIC PROBRANDS.
• For severe schizophrenia (involving 2+ years in hospital), the
concordance rate for MZ twins was 75%, but only 24% for DZ twins.

• In every category, there was a significant difference between MZ and

DZ twins, with MZ twins being more likely to share a similar diagnosis
of mental illness. The concordance was stronger for female twins than
male twins and also stronger with more severe schizophrenia.
CON
CLU
SIONS
• There seems to be a genetic component to
schizophrenia because the closer the genetic link, the
more likely both twins are to show schizophrenic
symptoms.
• However, the MZ concordance rate was significantly
lower than 100%. This means that, despite their
shared genotype, MZ twins do not always share
schizophrenic symptoms - 21% of MZ twins with a
schizophrenic brother or (less commonly) sister were
perfectly healthy.
• This suggests that genetics is not the only cause of
schizophrenia.
The Gottesman-Shields Twin Study
(1967) clearly confirmed the
proposition that both genes and
environment play a role in
schizophrenia (at a time when
theorists in the US and Britain were
blaming parents, particularly
mothers, for ‘causing’ the disorder).
•
Complications of SCHIZOPHRENIA
Left untreated, schizophrenia can result in severe
problems that affect every area of life. Suicide,
suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide
• Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD)
• Depression
• Abuse of alcohol or other drugs, including nicotine
Complications Of
SCHIZOPHRENIA
• Inability to work or attend school
• Financial problems and homelessness
• Social isolation
• Health and medical problems
• Being victimized
• Aggressive behavior, although it's uncommon
Complications Of
SCHIZOPHRENIA
• Inability to work or attend school
• Financial problems and homelessness
• Social isolation
• Health and medical problems
• Being victimized
• Aggressive behavior, although it's uncommon
7 Ways
Schizophrenia
Impacts
Education
1. Disorganized Thinking
• Students with schizophrenia often struggle with
disorganized thinking, which is commonly identified
by their tendency to abruptly switch from one topic to
another, exhibiting unusual speech patterns, or giving
verbal responses that are incoherent or nonsensical.
• These impairments make it difficult for students to
grasp what they’re being taught, or to provide verbal
or written responses, making typical homework,
classroom, and testing expectations incredibly
challenging.
• Disorganized thinking has been linked to unusual
activity in regions of the brain associated with:
Speech and language processing
Social interaction
Decision-making
Learning
Evaluating
Auditory perception
2. Confusing Reality
• A common symptom of schizophrenia is confusing
reality with dreams, television, or other fictional
scenarios due to delusions and/or hallucinations.
• These cognitive distortions can be terribly
distressing, making it difficult for students with
schizophrenia to remain alert and focused on
learning.
3. Isolation
• Social relationships are a key element to an optimal
academic experience, which disadvantages students
with schizophrenia who often feel alone or “othered”
by their condition.
• Schizophrenia commonly causes students to have
trouble reading social cues, building friendships, or
developing strong connections with teachers.
• Some exhibit a “flat affect” or no social construct.
 4. Depression and Irritability
• Social and educational successes are important
factors in a student’s identity.
• Schizophrenia disrupts these dynamics,
contributing to low self-esteem, irritability, or
periods of debilitating depression.
• Students with schizophrenia struggle with emotional
regulation and are more likely to self-harm, or abuse
substances which can provoke harmful psychoses.
5. Low Motivation
• Depending on the severity of a student’s
symptoms, they may have trouble finding the
motivation to carry out daily tasks such as
studying, completing homework, and basic self-
care.
• Academically, this can lead to delayed
educational advancement.
6. Abnormal or Inappropriate
Behaviors
• Students with schizophrenia may engage in behaviors that are
inappropriate or at odds with what is expected for their age.
• They may be quick to become agitated, behave as if they are
much younger than they are, or engage in private actions in
public.
• These behavioral differences make it challenging for students
with schizophrenia to adhere to typical classroom
expectations.
7. Attention and Memory Problems
• Schizophrenia can cause attention and memory
problems in students, impairing organization and focus
in class.
• Because schizophrenia has some overlapping symptoms
with conditions such as ADHD and dissociative
personality disorder, diagnostic testing is a critical first
step in securing an accurate diagnosis and appropriate
support for affected students.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF
SCHIZOPHRENIA AWARENESS?
• Through the study of mental health disorders, we
learn more about how to prevent, identify, and reduce
symptoms of schizophrenia, depression, bipolar
disorder, and other disorders of the mind.
• Schizophrenia is one of the top 15 leading causes of
disability worldwide. Individuals with schizophrenia
have an increased risk of premature mortality (death
at a younger age than the general population).
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE
SCHIZOPHRENIA AWARENESS?
• Schizophrenia is a very complex condition that can
affect how a person thinks, feels, and experiences the
world around them. Despite being so common, the
stigma surrounding schizophrenia remains stubbornly
high due to a lack of understanding.
• It plays a crucial role in helping us understand mental
illness.
 CONCLUSIONS
• SCHIZOPHRENIA ,researchers believe that a
combination of genetics, brain chemistry and
environment contributes to development of the
disorder.
• GOTTESMAN’S THE GENETICS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA ,
Genes appear to play an important role in schizophrenia
because the concordance rate is higher in MZ twins
than DZ twins. However environmental factors must
also be important.
• Gottesman and Shields (1966) support a diathesis-
stress model of schizophrenia where by a
predisposition is inherited but is only triggered
under certain environmental circumstances.
• They also believed that certain types of
schizophrenia may have a greater environmental
component; this conclusion is based on the fact that
in 21% of MZ twin pairs, one had schizophrenia yet
the other was absolutely fine despite sharing the
exact same DNA.
Nullum magnum
ingenium sine
mixtura dementiae fuit,

‘there is no genius without a grain of madness’.

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• https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/7-ways-schizophrenia-impacts-educatio
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.
• https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-diathesis-stress-model-6454943
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-
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0and%20can%20be%20disabling
.
• https://slideplayer.com/slide/14622698/
• https://www.psychologywizard.net/gottesman--shields-ao1-ao3.html
• https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/25at25/irving-i-gottesma
n.html
• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia?gad_source=1&gcli
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