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Schizotypal Personality Disorder: General information
The schizoid disorder was first thought to be connected to schizophrenia and schizotypy, but most schizoids say that is not the case and it is no longer seen that way, whereas schizotypy isn't really schizophrenia either, but exhibiting some aspects thereof. Several studies suggest that the non-schizophrenic relatives of schizophrenic patients exhibit structural brain abnormalities that may be manifestations of genes that predispose to schizophrenia. Moreover, the level of a hormone connected to creativity - dopamine - is higher in those individuals.
There is an evolutionary puzzle surrounding the persistence of schizophrenia, since it is substantially heritable and associated with sharply reduced fitness. Yet the illness persists, and indeed appears to have become far more common in the middle of the 18th century, roughly coinciding with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Consider, for example, the population of Iceland, which is relatively isolated from immigration and has been studied intensively by Karlsson. Records of the last two hundred years have revealed familiar associations between on the one hand madness and creativity and on the other stable behaviour without unusual achievement. Here we have the first clues as to why natural selection has not removed the genes for psychosis which lead to schizophrenia and manic depression - such selection would also remove the basis of human creativity. First degree relatives of psychotic patients are often strikingly creative individuals. In fact, scientific studies have shown that poets and artists score as highly on unusual experiences and impulsive non-conformity as schizophrenia patients do.
New research on individuals with schizotypal personalities "people characterized by odd behavior and language but who are not psychotic or schizophrenic" offers the first neurological evidence that they are more creative than either normal or fully schizophrenic individuals, and rely more heavily on the right sides of their brains than the general population to access their creativity. Thought processes for individuals with schizophrenia are often very disorganized, almost to the point here they can't really be creative because they cannot get all of their thoughts coherent enough to do that. Schizotypals, on the other hand, are free from the severe, debilitating symptoms surrounding schizophrenia and also have an enhanced creative ability.
Adoption studies report rates of approximately 20% for schizotypal traits in children of parents with schizophrenia, but about 6% in children of parents of good mental health. Three million Americans and ca. eight million Chinese are currently affected with schizophrenia. All this means that many near-normal people are carrying the genes which when present in sufficient numbers, lead to schizophrenia. It appears that in some people, schizophrenia may only reveal itself in the presence of environmental factors, such as extreme emotional stress or life changes.
Today and in the past, researchers have presented a revolutionary view that the influence of genomic imprinting causes diamediametrically opposite disorders, namely "autism"� and "psychoses"�. An extended hypothesis can be established. While genomic imprinting is likely to have an influence on the pathogenesis of autism and schizoaffective disorders, it might contribute to phenomenological antithesis "between"� as well as "within" these disorders. Beyond the limited confines of psychopathology, there is no hard and fast dividing line between the normal and the abnormal. In some respects, the latter are merely exhibiting normal brain mechanisms to an exaggerated degree. At this stage the legacy of madness is no more than an echo.
I recommend the free eBook of Kretschmer's "Physique and Character" to those interested in the schizotypal-schizoid topic:
http://www.archive.org/details/physi...chara031966mbp
Not all schizotypes are religious, as mentioned in this video:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0skhOTSxKY
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwudIMSEJGE
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Originally Posted by Brynhild
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