Biological Basis Of Nervous System Disorders Flashcards
Risk factors of schizophrenia
Genetic predisposition + environmental, social & psychological factors
- -> neurodevelopmental abnormalities
- -> brain dysfunction, improper chemical balance (neurotransmitter dopamine)
Genetic link (schizophrenia)
Increased risk in biological relatives
Trauma (schizophrenia)
Risk factor for schizophrenia
Trauma to the brain
At birth, specifically hypoxia
Dopamine hypothesis (schizophrenia)
High levels of dopamine –risk factor for schizophrenia
Treatment: drugs block dopamine receptors in CNS
Brain structure (schizophrenia)
Structural changes in the brain
Cause or result? Unknown
Depressive disorders risk factors
1) Genetics
2) Sociocultural factors (lifestyle)
3) Highly active amygdala
4) Atrophied hippocampus
5) Catecholamine Hypothesis
Decrease in serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine
6) High cortisol
Bipolar disorder risk factors
1) Genetics
2) catecholamine hypothesis
Increase in norepinephrine and serotonin
3) multiple sclerosis
Alzheimer’s disease risk factors
1) age
Common in patients older than 65
2) gender
Higher risk for women
3) family history
4) education
Decreased risk for more highly educated people
5) mutations in genes
ApoE, Down Syndrome, chromosome 21
Alzheimer’s disease pathology
1) Diffuse brain atrophy
2) changes to amygdala, forebrain, hippocampus, and cortex
3) flattening of sulci in cerebral cortex, enlarged cerebral ventricles, deficient blood flow to the parietal lobes
4) levels of ACh and activity of AChase decreased
5) amyloid beta-peptide accumulation (midfield in protein sheets)
6) neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein
Parkinson’s disease
1) Movement disorders
2) decreased dopamine production in substantia nigra
- -> impacts basal ganglia (role in movement)
Treatments: Manage w/ L-DOPA
