Contributing Author: Melissa Arbuckle, MD, PhD
Overview: For decades, our understanding of schizophrenia has been dominated by the “dopamine hypothesis”. This theory has been supported by the fact that antipsychotic medications work by blocking dopamine receptors (particularly D2 receptors) in the striatum. However, this excessive dopamine receptor stimulation accounts for only a fraction of the symptomatology seen in patients with schizophrenia. Since dopamine blocking medications do not effectively treat the cognitive dysfunction associated with schizophrenia, it is clear that other neural pathways are involved. This session highlights our most recent understanding of the neurobiology underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The clinical relevance is clear: as our understanding of the underlying neuropathology grows, we will be better positioned to develop novel and more effective treatments for schizophrenia.
The content in this lab is delivered through an interactive, online training module which highlights some of the modern “teaching with technology” features now available to educators. This session was created with Articulate Studio, a program that works within PowerPoint to create interactive features. In addition, it includes a built in “quiz maker” to assess whether learning objectives have been achieved.
Author Affiliations: Dr. Arbuckle is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychaitry and Co-Director of Residency Training in Psychiatry at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. The National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative is a collaborative effort with AADPRT and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning and receives support from the NIH (R25 MH10107602S1) ©National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative
