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This article claims that: "Genetic vulnerability is generally accepted to be involved in the development of schizophrenia." It might be more accurate to say it

This article claims that: "Genetic vulnerability is generally accepted to be involved in the development of schizophrenia." It might be more accurate to say its accepted that it may be involved in particular cases, but is not a general feature in all cases, nor is it determinative (i.e. some genetic makeups may be correlated with a higher risk of schizophrenia, but only by a small factor, and many people with such genetic makeups never develop the condition). This is an area of active debate whose outcome remains uncertain. For example (2021): "Schizophrenia: a classic battle ground of nature versus nurture debate", Clair & Lang https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/j.scib.2021.01.032 https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/j.scib.2021.01.032 Note that twin studies are heavily skewed by shared environmental conditions and so are not that valid of an argument regarding genetic determinism (in this as well as many other psychiatric conditions). The current state seems to be: > "However, little is known about the causal biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved that translate genetic and environmental risk into the schizophrenia phenotype. It is also now clear that environmental exposures that increase the risk of schizophrenia can occur at any point across the life span and probably include pre-conceptional exposure." This is probably a case where mice studies are not very relevant to the human condition.

y-c-o-m-b 4y ago
They should add my family to a study around this. Grandfather was full schizophrenic. Father is schizotypal. I am schizotypal. My teenager has borderline personality disorder - which has a lot of overlap with schizotypal personality disorder - and I have another child that is showing early signs of schizotypal PD but we'll have to see if they get diagnosed later in life. Teenage years - approx 15-18 years of age - seem to be when it presents itself at the worst and when we get diagnosed. My father's siblings also have various conditions ranging from BPD, Narcissistic PD, and schizotypal personality disorder. Many of them grew up in different environments. Me and my children grew up in different continents and social structures altogether.
phkahler 4y ago
>> It might be more accurate to say its accepted that it may be involved in particular cases, It has been confirmed in at least one case "see Glenn Close schizophrenia relative" or something. I think genetic susceptibility IS involved in some cases and presumed to be a factor in many. But this all feels like splitting hairs on words describing probability ;-)
kayodelycaon 4y ago
The meta study in question is saying genetics may not be involved because they couldn’t find exact genes for it. It’s pretty well accepted that bipolar and schizophrenia are both highly inheritable. It’s also known that not everyone with the genes develops the disorder. Environment is thought to play a significant part here in the disorder appearing. Both disorders are known to get worse if left untreated. For some people, it’s a matter of sufficient time or stress before the disorder appears. In my case, I started showing symptoms when I was 5. (This was misdiagnosed as ADD. As was the style at the time.) Others never develop it.
PaulHoule 4y ago
"Schizophrenia tends to run in families, but no single gene is thought to be responsible." https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/causes/ https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/ca... Paul Meehl was associated with the hypothesis of schizotaxia and schizotypy in the 1960s, he believed the first was caused by a single dominant gene. Schizotaxia would cause you to have 'synaptic slippage' which would cause negative social learning which would cause you to develop as a schizotype, which is related to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizotypal_personality_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizotypal_personality_disord... Schizotaxia, for instance, makes you liable to paranoia, but if it makes you a bullying magnet in school and the authorities blow off your concerns and refuse to protect you you learn that they really are out to get you which has many kinds of negative impact on your development which leads you to become a schizotype who might further develop schizophrenia if you are unlucky. Maybe 5% of the population is schizotypal, maybe 5% of those develop schizophrenia. Schizotypy is a form of neurodivergence that is similar in prevalence to autism and ADHD but unlike the others there are not institutions in place to diagnose it so if you present as a schizotype to a therapist under distress they will probably say you have "adjustment disorder with depression|anxiety|conduct concerns" and if they get so far as to think there is a developmental problem they will probably think it is autism or adhd since those are fashionable to have. (So fashionable that people who don't know anything about psychodiagnosis self-diagnose with autism or ADHD but a person who reads about psychology as a hobby might take decades to have that fateful moment where they read a long list of 20+ signs and symptoms and find they have 15 of them... But the similarity to autism is apt since schizotypes develop 'special interests' and tend to be loners because they learn that it is completely unsafe to reveal their difference to other people, even if they have no idea what that difference is.) It is not so safe to tell people you are a schizotype because of the stigma associated with schizophrenia and the fact that schizotypy is not well known among either the public or medical professionals. Some authorities think the pediatric syndrome described in this book https://www.amazon.com/Loners-Life-Path-Unusual-Children/dp/0415066654 https://www.amazon.com/Loners-Life-Path-Unusual-Children/dp/... is usually schizotypy.

y-c-o-m-b 4y ago

They should add my family to a study around this. Grandfather was full schizophrenic. Father is schizotypal. I am schizotypal. My teenager has borderline personality disorder - which has a lot of overlap with schizotypal personality disorder - and I have another child that is showing early signs of schizotypal PD but we'll have to see if they get diagnosed later in life. Teenage years - approx 15-18 years of age - seem to be when it presents itself at the worst and when we get diagnosed. My father's siblings also have various conditions ranging from BPD, Narcissistic PD, and schizotypal personality disorder. Many of them grew up in different environments. Me and my children grew up in different continents and social structures altogether.

phkahler 4y ago

>> It might be more accurate to say its accepted that it may be involved in particular cases, It has been confirmed in at least one case "see Glenn Close schizophrenia relative" or something. I think genetic susceptibility IS involved in some cases and presumed to be a factor in many. But this all feels like splitting hairs on words describing probability ;-)

kayodelycaon 4y ago

The meta study in question is saying genetics may not be involved because they couldn’t find exact genes for it. It’s pretty well accepted that bipolar and schizophrenia are both highly inheritable. It’s also known that not everyone with the genes develops the disorder. Environment is thought to play a significant part here in the disorder appearing. Both disorders are known to get worse if left untreated. For some people, it’s a matter of sufficient time or stress before the disorder appears. In my case, I started showing symptoms when I was 5. (This was misdiagnosed as ADD. As was the style at the time.) Others never develop it.

PaulHoule 4y ago

"Schizophrenia tends to run in families, but no single gene is thought to be responsible." https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/causes/ https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/ca... Paul Meehl was associated with the hypothesis of schizotaxia and schizotypy in the 1960s, he believed the first was caused by a single dominant gene. Schizotaxia would cause you to have 'synaptic slippage' which would cause negative social learning which would cause you to develop as a schizotype, which is related to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizotypal_personality_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizotypal_personality_disord... Schizotaxia, for instance, makes you liable to paranoia, but if it makes you a bullying magnet in school and the authorities blow off your concerns and refuse to protect you you learn that they really are out to get you which has many kinds of negative impact on your development which leads you to become a schizotype who might further develop schizophrenia if you are unlucky. Maybe 5% of the population is schizotypal, maybe 5% of those develop schizophrenia. Schizotypy is a form of neurodivergence that is similar in prevalence to autism and ADHD but unlike the others there are not institutions in place to diagnose it so if you present as a schizotype to a therapist under distress they will probably say you have "adjustment disorder with depression|anxiety|conduct concerns" and if they get so far as to think there is a developmental problem they will probably think it is autism or adhd since those are fashionable to have. (So fashionable that people who don't know anything about psychodiagnosis self-diagnose with autism or ADHD but a person who reads about psychology as a hobby might take decades to have that fateful moment where they read a long list of 20+ signs and symptoms and find they have 15 of them... But the similarity to autism is apt since schizotypes develop 'special interests' and tend to be loners because they learn that it is completely unsafe to reveal their difference to other people, even if they have no idea what that difference is.) It is not so safe to tell people you are a schizotype because of the stigma associated with schizophrenia and the fact that schizotypy is not well known among either the public or medical professionals. Some authorities think the pediatric syndrome described in this book https://www.amazon.com/Loners-Life-Path-Unusual-Children/dp/0415066654 https://www.amazon.com/Loners-Life-Path-Unusual-Children/dp/... is usually schizotypy.