3 Schizophrenia Flashcards
What are the 4 main positive symptoms of SCZ?
Delusions, illusions, hallucinations and disorganised thinking and behaviour
What are the 5 main negative symptoms of SCZ?
Alogia, diminished emotional expression, anhedonia, asocial, avolition
What are 3 other symptoms of SCZ - not positive or negative?
Olfactory dysfunction / water intoxication / pain insensitivity
What is delusions?
Fixed beliefs
What are illusions?
Perception disturbances, less intense than hallucinations
What are examples of disorganised thinking and speech?
Tics, mannerisms, grimacing, incoherence
What are hallucinations?
Perceptual like experiences in the absence of stimuli
What is the lifetime prevalence of SCZ?
< 1%
What are three environmental risk factors of SCZ?
Obstetric complications / maternal influenza / maternal malnutrition / immigration / substance abuse / urbanisation / paternal age / winter births / childhood infections
What is the role of dopamine in normal functioning?
The brains reward system
How might dopaminergic alternations cause SCZ?
Increased dopamine synthesis or release in the striatum / increased baseline occupancy functioning of D2 receptors / decreased dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex
What pathways and symptoms does dopamine hyperactivity effect?
Mesolimbic and nigrostriatal / positive symptoms
What pathways and symptoms does dopamine hypoactivity effect?
Mesocortical / negtaive symptoms
Give three examples of how antipsychotics work in SCZ?
Block D2 receptors / makes mesolithic and mesocorticla pathways “normal” / upregulates D2 / downregulates D1
