Role of neurotransmitters in schizophrenia: a comprehensive study

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder, way tougher to diagnose than other psychological disorders, as it shares similar symptoms with psychosis. As we know, schizophrenia occurs due to chemical imbalance in the brain; identifying the role of neurotransmitters in schizophrenia poses a vital area to study. Neurotransmitters being the sole carrier of different brain activities, researchers have already initiated studies to investigate their role and effect in disorder. Firstly, this paper performs a critical review of the literature that dealt with different neurotransmitters in schizophrenia. Secondly, we identify the most important neurotransmitters and broadly elaborate on their functional roles and effects on the disorder. Finally, we have successfully identified various gaps and unexplored research questions to investigate these neurochemicals' role. Studies show that neurotransmitters like dopamine, glutamate, GABA, serotonin, and oxytocin are majorly responsible for schizophrenia, among which dopamine contributes the most. To the best of our knowledge, this paper encapsulates all the neurotransmitters, enzymes, and chemicals for the first time and explores their related literature. This study also identifies the most responsible chemicals involved in schizophrenia and unfolds the research community's unsolved problem.