Schizophrenia is a condition that affects all areas of life, and that appears to include intelligence. Overall, people who live with schizophrenia have lower IQ scores than those who don't experience the condition.
People with schizophrenia experience psychosis, which means they can have serious problems with thinking clearly, emotions, and knowing what is real and what is not. This can include hearing or seeing things that are not there (hallucinations), and having very strange beliefs that are abnormal or not true (delusions).
On average, individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia experienced a 16-point drop in IQ from early adolescence through adulthood, as compared with a 9-point decline for people with other psychotic disorders, reported Katherine Jonas, PhD, of Stony Brook University in New York, and colleagues in JAMA Psychiatryopens in a ...
Some highly creative people have suffered from schizophrenia, including Syd Barrett, the early driving force behind the rock band Pink Floyd; John Nash, the father of game theory; and Vaslav Nijinsky, the legendary dancer and choreographer.
Schizophrenia is a disorder that impacts many domains. Some of its more recognizable symptoms involve difficulties in thinking (e.g., disorganized thinking, delusions) and perception (e.g., hallucinations).
Unfortunately, most people with schizophrenia are unaware that their symptoms are warning signs of a mental disorder. Their lives may be unraveling, yet they may believe that their experiences are normal. Or they may feel that they're blessed or cursed with special insights that others can't see.
Peculiar, eccentric or unusual thinking, beliefs or mannerisms. Suspicious or paranoid thoughts and constant doubts about the loyalty of others. Belief in special powers, such as mental telepathy or superstitions. Unusual perceptions, such as sensing an absent person's presence or having illusions.
Abstract. Background: Schizophrenia patients are typically found to have low IQ both pre- and post-onset, in comparison to the general population. However, a subgroup of patients displays above average IQ pre-onset.
John Nash Jr.
By age 30, he was known as one of the world's most brilliant mathematicians. Then paranoia, delusions, and other symptoms of schizophrenia took hold. Nash's descent into mental illness lasted for 20 years.
Sz patients show prominent deficits in some aspects of episodic memory (e.g. relational encoding, intentional forgetting) while other aspects appear to be spared, which is a pattern of selective deficits that is seen across a range of cognitive domains including attention, working memory and cognitive control.
Schizophrenia is a complex brain disorder. It often runs in families and can cause troubling symptoms. It's caused by a chemical imbalance and other changes in the brain. Symptoms include hearing voices, feeling that people are out to get you, and having false beliefs that are not based in reality.
Our results may also be in keeping with one of the few studies in persons with low IQ defined as IQ below 85 [9]. In that study Koenen et al. found that high IQ protected against anxiety, social phobia and PTSD, while low IQ was a risk factor for anxiety, schizophrenia and depression [9].
In a study by Watson (14), schizophrenics tended to manipulate the impressions that they made on others via certain &! IMP1 scales, but not through measures of thinking disorder or interview behavior.
It is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed among criminals, especially serial killers: David Berkowitz, better known as the “Son of Sam” killed six people in the 1970s claiming that his neighbor's dog had told him to do it. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
48 killers had a formal diagnosis, often schizophrenia.” Of these 48 offenders, 24 had been prescribed psychiatric drugs, but “14 had stopped taking them.”
US and international to date research suggests that individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are responsible for approximately 10% of all homicides in the United States. For mass killings, the percentage is approximately 33% (see “Serious Mental Illness and Mass Homicide”).
Personality disorders such as antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive types have been detected in one third to one half of schizophrenia patients (Nielsen, Hewitt & Habke, 1997; Solano & Chavez, 2000).
A diminished sense of self is frequently described in the prodromal stages of schizophrenia or in ultra-high risk for psychosis (Parnas et al., 1998, Nelson et al., 2008, Nelson et al., 2009, Nelson et al., 2012, Hauser et al., 2011b), suggesting disturbed basic sense of self both as a core symptom and a ...
A person with schizophrenia may also have symptoms of ADHD. ADHD is far more common than schizophrenia. Many people have ADHD and never develop schizophrenia. There is no evidence that one condition causes the other.
Sometimes, people confuse dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, and schizophrenia.
The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition. Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode.
Some people find it hard to concentrate and will drift from one idea to another. They may have trouble reading newspaper articles or watching a TV programme. People sometimes describe their thoughts as "misty" or "hazy" when this is happening to them.