This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate course at UW-Madison.
My Inspiration for Creating this Project
This is my Aunt Vivian, who lived with schizophrenia until 2010, when she passed away at the age of 69. Growing up, I was not able to connect with Vivian on a personal level or attempt to understand her experience with schizophrenia because she generally kept to herself. Most of my memories of her consist of her sitting at my grandma's dining room table (whom she lived with at that point) putting together puzzles or watching Jeopardy. When we would visit, she generally did not acknowledge that I or anyone else was in the room. I was still quite young during our visits to my grandma's house, around ten years old, and didn't quite understand how to approach her. Most of what I now know about Vivian is through questions that I have asked my dad, which still leaves many questions unanswered. He cannot tell me what was going on in her head during specific events or how she was feeling, he can only tell me how he perceived her life. I decided to study schizophrenia for this project in hopes that it would provide me with a better understanding of what my aunt's life was like as well as a more detailed understanding of the science behind this complex disease that she lived with. Perhaps this research can shed more light onto the stories that my dad has shared with me.
If you know someone living with schizophrenia and would like more resources for informational purposes or guidance, please see the below links:
NIMH (see the 'Living With' tab)
SARDAA
CONTE Center (with more links here as well)
Psych Central
If you are interested in learning more about current schizophrenia research, see the links below:
The Schizophrenia Resource Centre
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
Schizophrenia International Research Society
If you know someone living with schizophrenia and would like more resources for informational purposes or guidance, please see the below links:
NIMH (see the 'Living With' tab)
SARDAA
CONTE Center (with more links here as well)
Psych Central
If you are interested in learning more about current schizophrenia research, see the links below:
The Schizophrenia Resource Centre
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
Schizophrenia International Research Society