Chapter 10 - Schizophrenia Spectrum And Other Psyhotic Disorders Flashcards
Four A’s
In Bleuler’s view, the primary characteristics of schizophrenia:
- associations (loose)
- affect (blunted or inappropriate)
- ambivalence
- autism
Associations
Linkages or relationships among thoughts or utterances (one of the four A’s in Bleuler’s view - i.e. Loose association)
Affect
Emotion or feeling state is attached to objects, ideas, or life experiences (one of the four A’s in Bleuler’s view - i.e. Flattened or inappropriate affect)
Ambivalence
A state in which a person holds conflicting feelings toward others, such as loving and hating a person at the same time (one of the four A’s in Bleuler’s view)
Autism
1) An absorption into daydreaming and fantasy
2) a disorder in childhood characterized by:
- failure to relate to others
- lack of speech
- disturbed motor behaviours
- intellectual impairment
- demands for sameness in environment
(Described as one of the four A’s -primary characteristics - of Bleuler’s view of schizophrenia)
First-rank symptoms
In Kurt Schneider’s view, the primary features of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions (auditory, sight, touch, smell) that distinctly characterize the disorder
Second-rank symptoms
In Schneider’s view, symptoms associated with schizophrenia that all occur in other psychological disorders (i.e. mood disturbances and confused thinking)
Prodromal phase
1) stage in which early features or signs of a disorder become apparent
2) in schizophrenia, the period of decline in functioning that precedes the development of the first acute psychotic episode (characterized by waning interest in social activities and increased difficulty in meeting responsibilities of daily life)
Residual phase
In schizophrenia, the phase of the disorder that follows an acute phase, characterized by a return to a level of functioning typical of the prodromal phase
Thought disorder
Disturbances in thinking characterized by various feature, especially a breakdown in logical associations between thoughts
Neologisms
Type of disturbed thinking associated with schizophrenia involving the coining of new words
Perseveration
Persistent repetition of the same thought or train of thought
Clanging
In people with schizophrenia, the tendency to string words together because they rhyme or sound alike
Blocking
1) disruption of self-expression of threatening or emotionally laden material
2) in people with schizophrenia, a condition of suddenly becoming silent with loss of memory for what they have just discussed
Stupor
State of relative or complete unconciousness in which a person is not generally aware of or responsive to the environment, as in a catatonic stupor
Positive symptoms
The more flagrant features of schizophrenia characterized by the presence of abnormal behaviour such as:
- hallucinations
- delusions
- thought disorder
- disorganized speech
- inappropriate affect
Type I schizophrenia is characterized by these symptoms
Negative symptoms
Features of schizophrenia characterized by the absence of normal behaviour. Negative symptoms are deficits or behavioural deficiencies, such as:
- social-skills deficits
- social withdrawal
- flattened affect
- poverty of speech and thought
- psychomotor retardation
- failure to experience pleasure in pleasant activities
Type II schizophrenia is characterized by these symptoms
Premorbid functioning
Level of functioning before the onset of a disorder
Cross-fostering study
Method of determining heritability of a trait or disorder by examining differences in prevalence among adoptees reared by either adoptive parents or biological parents who possess the trait or disorder in question.
Evidence that the disorder followed biological rather than Adoptive parentage favours the heritability of the trait or disorder
Dopamine theory
Biochemical theory of schizophrenia that proposes that schizophrenia involves the action of dopamine (I.e. Over reactivity of dopamine receptors in the brain - don’t appear to produce more, but rather simply use more)
Hippocampus
One of a pair of structures in the limbic system that are involved in process of memory
Amygdala
One of a pair of almond-shaped structures in the limbic system that are involved in emotion and memory
Schizophrenia
Enduring psychosis that involves:
- failure to maintain integrated personality functioning
- impaired reality testing
- disturbances in thinking
Common features include:
- delusions
- hallucinations
- flattened or inappropriate affect
- bizarre behaviour
Schizophrenogenic mother
Type of mother, described as cold but also overprotective, who was believed to be capable of causing schizophrenia in her children. Research has failed to support the validity of this concept
Double-bind communications
Pattern of communication involving the transmission of contradictory or mixed messages with out acknowledgment of the inherent conflict; posited by some theorists to play a role in the development of schizophrenia
(Whatever the child does, they are wrong)
Tardive dyskinesia (TD)
Movement disorder characterized by involuntary movements of the face, mouth, neck, trunk, or extremities caused by long-term use of antipsychotic (neuroleptic, and possibly new generation) medications
More common in woman and older people
Main types of schizophrenia symptoms
- psychotic dimension (hallucinations and delusions)
- negative dimension (flat affect and poverty of speech and thought)
- disorganized dimension (inappropriate affect and disorganized thought and speech)
Schizophrenia according to the psychodynamic perspective
Schizophrenia is the overwhelming of the ego by the is, producing intrapsychic conflict and regression yo an early period called primary narcissism
Schizophrenia according to a learning- based perspective
People may learn to “emit” schizophrenic behaviours and never learn to respond appropriately to social stimuli
Schizophrenia according to a biological perspective
Genetic factors - evidence suggests it is influenced by specifically points to interaction of multiple genes
Biochemical factors - “dopamine theory” proses that people with schizophrenia have a greater than normal number of dopamine receptors, and /or these receptors are overly sensitive to dopamine
Brain abnormalities - shown to have less activity in frontal lobes, enlarged ventricles, degeneration of brain tissue
Schizophrenia from a family theories perspective
Communication deviance - patterns of communication characterized by unclear, vague, disruptive, or fragmented parental communication (i.e. Double-bind communication)
Expressed emotion - tendency of family members to be hostile, critical, and unsupportive of schizophrenic family members
Biological approach to the Treatment of Schizophrenia
- major tranquilizers or neuroleptic a have revolutionized treatment
- new-generation drugs - atypical antipsychotic drugs- control symptoms with fewer neurological side effects
Psychoanalytical approach to the treatment of schizophrenia
Psychodynamic therapies for treating schizophrenia are not warranted; patients cannot form meaningful relationship with therapies
Learning-based approach to the treatment of schizophrenia
Interventions have been shown effective in modifying schizophrenic behaviour and improving social functioning
Psychosocial rehabilitation of schizophrenia as treatment
Social skills training combined with cognitive-behavioural treatment shows improved adjustment to community life
Family intervention programs for the treatment of schizophrenia
Family intervention programs focusing on the practical aspects of everyday living have been shown to reduce relapse among schizophrenic patients
Early intervention programs for schizophrenia patients
1) intimate treatment as early as possible once schizophrenia has developed
2) intervene before the onset of schizophrenia
