Having Identified the Cause of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia, Researchers Can Now Treat Them

A breakdown in the correct circuitry between the prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum is likely to blame for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. According to a new study from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, doctors can now treat negative symptoms directly, this is something traditional antipsychotic treatment (which treats only positive symptoms) has never been able to do. This is a huge breakthrough for people with schizophrenia. People tend to see schizophrenia through one lens, assuming that the only symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. This certainly isn’t true for anyone. Some people with schizophrenia will have only hallucinations while others might have only delusions (with no hallucinatory symptomology). But even this is flawed because this view of schizophrenia leaves out all negative symptoms like social isolation, inability to feel happiness, flat affect, and total lack of motivation and many, many more. Many people attribute these symptoms as side effects of strong medications, this would be incorrect. While antipsychotics can, and often do, have side effects, negative symptoms stand on their own.

Negative symptoms are debilitating, for some people just as much or more so than positive symptoms. We tend to over-associate positive symptoms with the disease, and as a repercussion, many of the trial treatments, and much of the research tend to sound only in the direction of treat the one type of symptomology. This mindset leaves an entire, exhausting, aspect of schizophrenia untreated.

So, what is most important about this study, is that researchers and doctors are finally pushing to uncover and treat the source of negative symptoms. If this type of treatment was approved it would bring relief to many, even if it doesn’t work for everyone.

Negative Symptoms: Apathy, absent, blunted or emotional responses, reductions in speech, social withdrawal, trouble paying attention, inability to feel pleasure, sexual problems (near to total lack of libido), lethargy, lack of facial expression, talking very little.

Positive Symptoms: Hallucinations (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory), delusions, thought disorders(illogical thinking), movement disorders(repetitive movements, or a complete lack of movement or speech).

Every person’s experience with schizophrenia is different and varies greatly in severity. While some people may have many of these symptoms, others may have less. Additionally, all of these symptoms run on their own spectrum (from very severe to less severe versions of the same symptom).

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. (2019, January 30). Researchers ID, treat faulty brain circuitry underlying symptoms of schizophrenia: Non-invasive brain stimulation alleviates the chronic, treatment-resistant symptoms of schizophrenia. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 9, 2019 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190130075801.htm