So, subtle abnormalities in the shape and layout of a face may reflect specific abnormalities in brain structure, he said. Thus far, he said, he has found that some schizophrenics do have certain minor facial anomalies - none of them visible to the naked eye - as do some of their healthy relatives.
Compared with the general population, schizophrenia patients are at increased risk of weight gain, abdominal obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.
For example, the person may neglect personal hygiene or appear to lack emotion (doesn't make eye contact, doesn't change facial expressions or speaks in a monotone). Also, the person may lose interest in everyday activities, socially withdraw or lack the ability to experience pleasure.
…a frail, rather weak (asthenic) body build as well as a muscular (athletic) physique were frequently characteristic of schizophrenic patients, while a short, rotund (pyknic) build was often found among manic-depressive patients.
Patients with schizophrenia can sometimes report strange face illusions when staring at themselves in the mirror; such experiences have been conceptualized as anomalous self-experiences that can be experienced with a varying degree of depersonalization.
Typically, illusion in schizophrenia patients include people, faces, animals, objects with frightening content (26–28). Like schizophrenia, patients with bipolar disorder also show visual illusion (29, 30).
Smooth-Pursuit Eye Movements
"People with schizophrenia may have different patterns of eye movements,” Dr. Murphy explains. “When looking at a scene they tend to make smaller saccades [gaze shifts] or movements up and down."
A blank stare or blank facial expression can result from conditions with psychotic features such as schizophrenia and related disorders. These symptoms could also result from a medication reaction or overdose.
While A Beautiful Mind is not an entirely accurate depiction of John Nash's life, it does offer an accurate representation of schizophrenia. Delusions of grandeur, or grandiose delusions, are among the most common signs of paranoid schizophrenia.
Encourage Questions and Conversation
"Tell them that this person has schizophrenia, and this means he does not enter readily into conversations with people, and he is a little bit off on most social interactions, and we'd appreciate it if you would just try to talk with him," Johnson says.
For example, people may not dress according to the weather, (i.e., they may wear a heavy coat in the middle of summer), they may wear odd or inappropriate makeup, they may shout at people for no apparent reason, or they may mutter to themselves continuously, etc.
Visual. Someone might see lights, objects, people, or patterns. Often it's loved ones or friends who are no longer alive. They may also have trouble with depth perception and distance.
The range of illnesses that afflict people with schizophrenia disproportionately is very wide and includes the more obvious candidates like heart disease, stroke and diabetes but also high blood pressure, some cancers, sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis and infectious diseases like HIV, TB and hepatitis3,12.
Other Eye Abnormalities.
Electroretinograph studies have reported differences between individuals with schizophrenia and controls in a-wave and b-wave activity. Structurally, there have been reports of both retinal venule widening and retinal nerve fiber layer thinning associated with schizophrenia.
Excited/hyperkinetic: This form involves increased movement (such as in the form of pacing), agitated behavior, unusual or exaggerated movements, repetitive movements or speaking, or mimicking someone speaking or moving near them.
Lack of social interest: People with schizophrenia usually hate socializing. They avoid eye to eye contact, cannot express themselves, and can rarely initiate a conversation with another person. They might also avoid responding if someone tries to have a conversation with them.
People with schizophrenia suffer a wide range of social cognitive deficits, including abnormalities in eye gaze perception. For instance, patients have shown an increased bias to misjudge averted gaze as being directed toward them.
As expected, all of the schizophrenic patients reported seeing the concave faces, while none of the control subjects did.
People with paranoid schizophrenia have an altered perception of reality. They may see or hear things that don't exist, speak in confusing ways, believe that others are trying to harm them, or feel like they're being constantly watched.
Visual masking is a frequently used tool in schizophrenia research. Visual masking has a very high sensitivity and specificity and masking paradigms have been proven to be endophenotypes. Whereas masking is a powerful technique to study schizophrenia, the underlying mechanisms are discussed controversially.
People with schizophrenia experience difficulties in remembering their past and envisioning their future. However, while alterations of event representation are well documented, little is known about how personal events are located and ordered in time.
A variety of self-awareness deficits are more severe and pervasive in patients with schizophrenia than in patients with schizoaffective or major depressive disorders with or without psychosis and are associated with poorer psychosocial functioning.
Schizophrenia involves a range of problems with thinking, behavior or emotions. Signs and symptoms may vary, but usually involve delusions, hallucinations or disorganized speech, and reflect an impaired ability to function. The effect can be disabling.