Why schizophrenia leads to social isolation

Michael Green, neuroscientist and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA, has been fascinated with the human brain, behavior and mental illness since his undergraduate days.In graduate school at Cornell University, he worked in a state hospital with people who had schizophrenia. While working with them, Green noticed he could be having an ordinary conversation one moment, and then suddenly the conversation would shift dramatically, erasing the common ground they had established.“I have never encountered a condition so perplexing, both scientifically and clinically,” said Green, who is a senior research scientist in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. From that point on, he knew he wanted to devote his research to schizophrenia.Green will deliver UCLA ’s 123rd Faculty Research Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 25. The lecture, titled “The Human Social Brain: How it Works and How it Goes Awry in Schizophrenia and the General Population,” is based on his lab’s explorations of the relationship between cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and activit ies of daily living. The Green lab is part of the Semel Institute and the Department of Veterans Affairs VISN 22 Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center.Schizophrenia  is a chronic brain disorder that affects about 1 percent of the population. Its symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. Green has...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news