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BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

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the information through to the right hemisphere so he won't un<strong>de</strong>rstand the<br />

word because language <strong>de</strong>pends on the left hemisphere.<br />

Because people with split brain can not combine the information<br />

of both hemispheres, their behavior is pretty strange. Because he is not<br />

aware of everything that happens he can look stupid and his behavior can<br />

be illogical and vague.<br />

2. Schizophrenia<br />

Schizophrenia is the label given to a group of psychotic disor<strong>de</strong>rs<br />

characterized by distortion of reality, withdrawal from social interaction<br />

and disorganization of thought. The word schizophrenia is <strong>de</strong>rived from<br />

the Greek words for to split (schidzein) and mind (phren). This splitting is<br />

related to fragmenting of the thought processes.<br />

Schizophrenia occurs in all cultures, also those that are remote<br />

from western civilization and its stress. Because the disor<strong>de</strong>r often<br />

reoccurs and because the patient's suffer long from it, half of all<br />

psychiatric hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering schizophrenia.<br />

Schizophrenia usually appears in young adulthood. Sometimes the<br />

disor<strong>de</strong>r <strong>de</strong>velops slowly, but sometimes it has a sud<strong>de</strong>n onset. These are<br />

often a result of stress with people living an isolated life. Whether the<br />

disor<strong>de</strong>r <strong>de</strong>velops slowly or sud<strong>de</strong>nly, the signs are many and varied. The<br />

primary characteristics can be summarized as the following, although not<br />

every schizophrenic person will show all of them:<br />

1. Disturbance of thought and attention; people suffering<br />

schizophrenia often cannot think logically and as the result of this they<br />

cannot write a story, because every word they write down might make<br />

sense, but are meaningless in relation to each other, and they cannot keep<br />

their attention to the writing.<br />

2. Disturbances of perception; during acute schizophrenic<br />

episo<strong>de</strong>s, people say that the world appears different to them, their bodies<br />

appear longer, colors seem more intense and they cannot recognize<br />

themselves in a mirror.<br />

3. Disturbances of affect; schizophrenic persons fail to show<br />

'normal' emotions. For example, a patient may smile while talking over<br />

tragic events<br />

4. Withdrawal from reality; during schizophrenic episo<strong>de</strong>s, the<br />

individual becomes absorbed in his inner thoughts and fantasies. The self-<br />

22

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