Dynamical systems and schizophrenia
Anca Radulescu, Applied Math
Tuesday, September 30
Differential Equations, Geometry, and Topology Seminar
1:00 pm, Mathematics 350
We attempt to model the neurodegenerative process in schizophrenia, building upon neural vulnerability and dysregulation hypotheses. We attribute the mental disorder to a hereditary predisposition that reduces the individual's psychological threshold towards stimuli, to the point where even minor daily stresses will directly trigger psychotic experiences.
The behavior of our model depends on an set of physiological parameters (synaptic strengths, blood cortisol, dopamine regulation, autoimmunity). Interpretation of this dependence of parameters of the system’s dynamics offers an analytical explanation for the "normality/disease" dichotomy. The concept of "bifurcation" could be the key to understanding the threshold between these two states.
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