2 - schizophrenia II Flashcards
what are copy number variants (CNVs)?
section of chromosome, containing many genes, can be missing (deletion) or duplication
some genes related to dopamine within CNV region
what are some differences in the brain of a healthy patient and schizophrenic patient
reduced grey matter (neurodegeneration), resulting in englarged ventricles
smaller cortex, hippocampus, temporal lobes degeneration
what study did Thompson conduct?
longitudinal MRI with people with very early onset of schizophrenia (12 years old)
watch grey matter over time, compare with controls
observed severe loss in grey matter, up to 5% in parietal, motor, and temporal cortices
how would loss of grey matter lead to symptoms?
linked to general neuropathology to “underlying”, “basic” cognitive symptoms
how is eye tracking different in people with schizophrenia?
patients with schizophrenia have jerky eye movements when following smooth pursuit stimulus
can lead to social problems, reduced social attention
can explain symptoms such as disorientation, problems with reading and interpreting everyday objects
what are the cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenic patients?
impaired:
- eye-tracking
- prepulse inhibition
- executive function (Wisconsin card sorting task)
- ToM
what is ToM like in schizophrenia?
- ToM is distorted
- some evidence that ToM is impaired, similar to autism
- other theories that ToM is over-sensitive
what is repulse inhibition?
a weaker stimulus presented before a more intense one reduces typical response to stronger stimulus
what is seligman’s attributional model?
attributions of negative events:
- internal vs external
- global vs specific
- stable vs unstable
what is the attributional style in schizophrenia?
external (due to outside factors)
global (the case for everything)
stable (always going to happen)
how does the family of those with schizophrenia differ from control?
- double blind and paradoxical communication (e.g. saying “I love you” with angry face)
- communication deviance
- expressed emotion
(correlates not necessarily causation)
how is SES related to schizophrenia?
- lower SES related to higher risk of schizophrenia
- social drift hypothesis
- sociogenic hypothesis
what is the social drift hypothesis?
those with schizophrenia have difficulty with employment and drift to lower SES
what is the sociogenic hypothesis?
people with lower SES experience more stressful life events
how would a psychologist treat schizophrenia?
- social skills training
- CBT
- personal therapy
- cognitive remediation training
- family interventions
- community care
