1b Psychiatry Through the Lifetime Flashcards
Why do changes in the brain occur at different times?
Both the gray and white matter have different maturations times, and so changes in the brain happen at different times.
Where is the maximum density of grey matter reached first?
primary sensorimotor cortex
Where is the maximum density of grey matter reached last?
higher association areas such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
What causes the neural imbalances in adolescence?
Adolescence is a period of neural imbalance caused by early maturation of subcortical brain areas and delayed maturation of prefrontal control areas
In highly emotional situations what is the biggest driver of behaviour?
in highly emotional situations, the more mature limbic and reward systems will affect behaviour more strongly than the still relatively immature prefrontal control system.
10 year old girl, doesn’t want to sleep in the room alone, gets raised heart rate, sweating and difficulty breathing in crowded places and does not like doing presentations in class
Anxiety
10 year old boy, several attendances to GP and Emergency Department with recurrent abdominal pain, no physical cause found so far
Somatinization
15 year old young woman with tiredness, sleeping 12 hours/day, irritability and reduced enjoyment from her hobbies
Depression
4 year old boy, language is behind peers in class, doesn’t interact much with others, prefers watching buses/trains to playing in the playground
Autism
8 year old boy who has been fidgeting in lessons, speaking out of turn and struggling to stay focused on homework tasks
ADHD
9 year old boy, has been using increasing amounts of alcohol hand gel, wearing rubber gloves when going outdoors and lining up the toys in his room before going to sleep
OCD
10 year old boy with involuntary movements in the face, neck and arms as well as making sounds which are not context-appropriate
Tic syndrome
15 year old young man with conduct disorder has been truanting from school and stealing mother’s credit cards; he was found smelling of cannabis, and more recently has been smoking it in his bedroom
Substance Misuse
16 year old young woman who has been cutting herself with a razor when feeling distressed, and recently has bought several packets of paracetamol
Self Harm
14 year old girl who has been spending a lot of time thinking about her weight, has cut out carbohydrates from her diet, has been skipping breakfast and is using grandfather’s laxatives to lose weight
Eating Disorders
