Schizophrenia:Unintended By Product Of Human Brain Evolution

Washington, Aug 5 (IANS) Metabolic changes that spurred the evolution of our cerebral abilities may have possibly pushed the brain to its limits. The latest research adds weight to the theory that schizophrenia is a costly byproduct of human brain evolution. Philipp Khaitovich from the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology led researchers from Cambridge, Leipzig and Shanghai to investigate brains from healthy and schizophrenic humans and compared them with chimpanzee and rhesus macaque brains. The study’s authors used new technical approaches to test the theory that neurological diseases are the byproducts of increase in metabolic capacity and brain size during human evolution.

We must remember,evolution often involves payoffs and this is very prevalent in human vestigiality.   Suffering from poor eye sight,back and knee pain, wisdom teeth and now it seems schizophrenia is just the price we pay for being human, so much for an Intelligent Designer.

 

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8 Responses to Schizophrenia:Unintended By Product Of Human Brain Evolution

  1. James F says:

    Khaitovich has done some excellent functional comparative genomic studies between humans and chimpanzees – this looks very interesting!

  2. Jonathan Smith says:

    Yes James I agree, here is a link for others who are interested: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/309/5742/1850

  3. zygosporangia says:

    Well, it’s obvious that schizophrenia was designed. After all, without schizophrenia, we’d have no way to think that we were talking to gods. 😉

  4. Ivorygirl says:

    zygosporangia said: “After all, without schizophrenia, we’d have no way to think that we were talking to gods”
    Could this affliction be the result of the “God Gene”?????

  5. Noodlicious says:

    “Well, it’s obvious that schizophrenia was designed. After all, without schizophrenia, we’d have no way to think that we were talking to gods.”

    We know that His Noodliness was still a little drunk and more than a bit hungover when He created everything, but perhaps there was an underlying method in His “madness” after all!

    *goes off to dowload the paper*

  6. zygosporangia says:

    Well, perhaps His Noodliness created us in His drunken image?

  7. S.Scott says:

    “‘Our new research suggests that schizophrenia is a byproduct of the increased metabolic demands brought about during human brain evolution.’

    So … can we try to slow down the metabolism of people w/ schizophrenia?

    Would that possibly? Or is it just too late. If you got it – you got it?

  8. S.Scott says:

    possibly – help …. (slaps head for typo) sorry. 🙁

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