No description available.

Based on thesis, New School for Social Research. / Bibliography: p. 178-181.

Based on thesis, New School for Social Research. / Bibliography: p. 178-181.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed June 1, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine. Degree awarded 2009; thesis submitted 2008. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

The distinction of positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia was examined in relation to demographic, clinical and neuropsychological measures.

Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Mothers who care for schizophrenic children go through various personal experiences and face enormous challenges. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of mothers whose children were diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia. Participants consisted of eight mothers of children with schizophrenia from a rural village in the district of Vhembe, South Africa. They were interviewed at their homes, using in-depth, phenomenological interviews. Eight themes emerged from the participating mothers‟ articulations. They were identified as poverty and unemployment, emotional reactions of mothers, blaming witchcraft, dealing with the children‟s violence, aggression and destructiveness, financial and social support, effect of schizophrenia on the mother-child relationship, and the loss that mothers go through. The study reconfirmed that caring for individuals with schizophrenia is not an easy task for mothers. Recommendations were advanced on the basis of the findings. Keywords: caregiving, children, expressed emotion, objective burden, parenting, phenomenology, schizophrenia, subjective burden

Schizophrenia is among the most debilitating mental disorders, yet the pathophysiology remains unclear. The basal ganglia, a region of the brain involved in motor, cognitive, and sensory processes, may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Some, but not all, neuroimaging studies suggest abnormalities of the basal ganglia in schizophrenia. However, previous studies have examined whole basal ganglia nuclei as opposed to using a unified basal ganglia complex that incorporates anterior-posterior divisions, dorsal-ventral divisions, and gray-white matter segmentation. The hypothesis for the present study was that basal ganglia sub-regions forming functionally relevant subdivisions might be different in schizophrenia. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 25 first-episode schizophrenia subjects and 24 healthy subjects. Using manual and automated neuroimaging techniques, total and segmented (gray-white matter) volumes were obtained for the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus. For the striatum (caudate and putamen), total and segmented volumes were obtained for their respective sub-regions. These sub-regions were restructured into associative, limbic, and sensorimotor subdivisions. Schizophrenia subjects had 6% smaller gray matter volumes for the caudate and 8% smaller gray matter volumes for the associative striatum relative to healthy subjects. Basal ganglia function was studied by examining performance on a neuropsychological test that assesses frontostriatal functioning. For male subjects there was a significant negative correlation between volume of the associative striatum and performance on the neuropsychological test (r=-0.57, p=0.03). Smaller volumes of the associative striatum were associated with more errors on the neuropsychological test. This test was specific to the associative striatum, as another neuropsychological test did not reveal any correlation. In schizophrenia subjects, the relationship between basal ganglia volumes and motor symptoms severity was examined. For antipsychotic-naive subjects there was a significant negative correlation between volume of the motor striatum and severity of Parkinsonism (r=-0.65, p=0.03). The present study suggests that total basal ganglia nuclei volumes are not different in schizophrenia, but gray matter volumes of total basal ganglia nuclei and subdivisions forming functional units may be different in schizophrenia. Structural abnormalities involving the basal ganglia may lead to disrupted functional circuits in schizophrenia.

No description available.

No description available.

Schizophrenia is among the most debilitating mental disorders, yet the pathophysiology remains unclear. The basal ganglia, a region of the brain involved in motor, cognitive, and sensory processes, may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Some, but not all, neuroimaging studies suggest abnormalities of the basal ganglia in schizophrenia. However, previous studies have examined whole basal ganglia nuclei as opposed to using a unified basal ganglia complex that incorporates anterior-posterior divisions, dorsal-ventral divisions, and gray-white matter segmentation. The hypothesis for the present study was that basal ganglia sub-regions forming functionally relevant subdivisions might be different in schizophrenia. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 25 first-episode schizophrenia subjects and 24 healthy subjects. Using manual and automated neuroimaging techniques, total and segmented (gray-white matter) volumes were obtained for the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus. For the striatum (caudate and putamen), total and segmented volumes were obtained for their respective sub-regions. These sub-regions were restructured into associative, limbic, and sensorimotor subdivisions. Schizophrenia subjects had 6% smaller gray matter volumes for the caudate and 8% smaller gray matter volumes for the associative striatum relative to healthy subjects. Basal ganglia function was studied by examining performance on a neuropsychological test that assesses frontostriatal functioning. For male subjects there was a significant negative correlation between volume of the associative striatum and performance on the neuropsychological test (r=-0.57, p=0.03). Smaller volumes of the associative striatum were associated with more errors on the neuropsychological test. This test was specific to the associative striatum, as another neuropsychological test did not reveal any correlation. In schizophrenia subjects, the relationship between basal ganglia volumes and motor symptoms severity was examined. For antipsychotic-naive subjects there was a significant negative correlation between volume of the motor striatum and severity of Parkinsonism (r=-0.65, p=0.03). The present study suggests that total basal ganglia nuclei volumes are not different in schizophrenia, but gray matter volumes of total basal ganglia nuclei and subdivisions forming functional units may be different in schizophrenia. Structural abnormalities involving the basal ganglia may lead to disrupted functional circuits in schizophrenia.