Brain changes
Alterations in brain structure and changes in dopamine neurotransmission (a chemical important for communication between brain cells) are found in people who have psychosis.9,12 The dopamine changes are directly related to hallucinations and delusions.9
Dopamine levels are thought to be too high during psychosis and to affect:12
Memory
Emotion
Social behaviour
Self-awareness.
Brain scans have revealed reduced grey matter in the brains of some people who have had a history of psychosis, which may explain effects on thought processing.12
Signs and symptoms of psychosis
Psychosis is a symptom rather than a medical condition - it is not itself a psychiatric diagnosis, but a sign of a mental disorder. Psychotic symptoms may be separated out and given specific descriptions.
The classic hallmarks of psychosis are:1,4
Hallucinations - hearing, seeing or feeling things that do not exist; perceptions without external stimuli
Delusions - false beliefs, especially based on fear or suspicion of things that are not real.
Psychotic symptoms in disorders such as schizophrenia may also include:1,4
Disorganized thought, speech or behavior
Disordered thinking (jumping between unrelated topics, making strange connections between thoughts)
Catatonia (unresponsiveness).