1. Mental Health & Public Policy Symposium SCHIZOPHRENIA: A BRAIN DISEASE Alex Kopelowicz, M.D. UCLA School of Medicine San Fernando Mental Health Center

2. SCHIZOPHRENIAS ARE: A group of biological disorders... That produce handicaps in thinking, learning and social relationships... For which no cure is known... But new treatments promote improved quality of life.

3. SCHIZOPHRENIAS ARE NOT All psychoses Split personality Contagious Anyone’s fault Hopeless

4. SYMPTOM CLUSTERS POSITIVE NEGATIVE Hallucinations Few feelings Delusions Loss of motivation IMPAIRMENTS work work relationships relationships self-care self-care COGNITIVE MOOD Memory Depression Problem-solving Hopelessness

5. SCHIZOPHRENIA ALTERS BRAIN FUNCTIONING

6. FRONTAL LOBES GOVERN Drive and Ambition Problem solving Cognitive flexibility Capacity to plan Time sequential thinking Social awareness Empathy Mood Insight Impulsivity Judgment Abstraction Working memory

7. MISSING FRONTAL LOBES

8. REDUCED FRONTAL LOBE ACTIVITY NormalSchizophrenia

9. BRAIN FAILS TO ACTIVATE TO DO TASK

10. TEMPORAL LOBE FUNCTIONS Perception Reality Orientation Memory

11. REDUCED TEMPORAL LOBE STRUCTURES

12. BASAL GANGLIA FUNCTIONS Inhibit unwanted sensory input Filter out irrelevant sensory input Regulate arousal Govern concentration

13. REDUCED BASAL GANGLIA ACTIVITY REDUCED BASAL GANGLIA ACTIVITY

14. VARIATION IN BASAL GANGLIA ACTIVITY

15. LIMBIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS Understanding emotional events Linking current perception to past memories Learning from experience

16. REDUCED LIMBIC SYSTEM STRUCTURES

17. TANGLED CELLS IN LIMBIC SYSTEM

18. GENETIC RISK OF SCHIZOPHRENIA If you have a Your chance of getting Schizophrenic... schizophrenia is... Identical twin46% Both parents48% Sibling or Parent12% Aunt, Nephew, Grandparent 5% First cousin, great aunt 2% No relatives 1%

19. ANTIPSYCHOTIC MEDICATIONS REDUCE l Hallucinations and delusions l Negative symptoms l Bizarre behavior l Agitation l Hostility and aggression l Disordered thinking

20. MEDICATION RESTORES BRAIN FUNCTIONING

21. ANTIPSYCHOTIC MEDICATION ANTIPSYCHOTIC MEDICATION l Reduces relapse rates l Reduces brain dysfunction l Improved medications available l Unique and individual response l First step to recovery

22. STRATEGY OF TREATMENT l Control symptoms with medication l Form a personal relationship l Teach disease management skills l Teach compensatory techniques l Help maximize unique potential