- Dopamine is a very important chemical with regards to physiological functions and behavior. Understanding the role dopamine plays in schizophrenia is important to understanding the illness as a whole.
- Many antipsychotic drugs are dopamine antagonists, reducing the level of dopamine in the person. These drugs reduce psychotic symptoms; however, they often cause negative side effects similar to those seen in Parkinson's disease.
- Giving patients drugs that are dopamine agonists tends to cause psychotic symptoms in the person. Drugs for Parkinson's disease can give people schizophrenia-like symptoms.
- Not all drugs that reduce dopamine impact schizophrenia, bringing doubt to the theory. Moreover, dopamine levels are reduced very quickly via drugs; however, it often takes several weeks to get relief from schizophrenia symptoms.
- Schizophrenia runs in families and has a strong genetic component. Furthermore, many schizophrenics have a noted brain structural difference. While not all have such structural differences, this brings considerations outside of the dopamine theory.
next post