Co-Authored By:
Asked by: Ivani Chirimar
medical health mental healthIs schizophrenia caused by a chemical imbalance?
Subsequently, one may also ask, is schizophrenia a chemical imbalance in the brain?
Chemistry: Scientists believe that people with schizophrenia have an imbalance of the brain chemicals or neurotransmitters: dopamine, glutamate and serotonin. These neurotransmitters allow nerve cells in the brain to send messages to each other.
- feelings of sadness, helplessness, worthlessness, or emptiness.
- overeating or loss of appetite.
- insomnia or sleeping too much.
- restlessness.
- irritability.
- a feeling of impending doom or danger.
- lack of energy.
- distancing yourself from others.
Similarly one may ask, what chemicals does schizophrenia cause?
dopamine
Two neurotransmitters in particular have roles to play in schizophrenia. New evidence shows that abnormalities in serotonin activity also play an important role in the illness. The effect is that the person has a “sensitive brain” as if the nerve cells were “sandpapered.”