Chapter 13 Flashcards

Question

prodomal

Answer 1

very | early signs of schizophrenia

Answer 2

• Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia | – Apparent even before there is a diagnosable illness

Answer 3

• Social cognition: how we recognize, think about, and | respond to social information, including the emotions and intentions of others

Answer 4

• People with schizophrenia show significant impairments in social cognition – Failure to spot the kinds of subtle (or not so subtle) social hints – Difficulty recognizing emotion in faces and emotion being conveyed in speech

Answer 5

Patients with schizophrenia have enlarged brain ventricles – Males more affected than females – Indicator of a reduction in brain tissue • Decrease in brain volume is present very early in the illness • Progressive brain deterioration continues for many years

Answer 6

Reductions in the volume of regions in the frontal and temporal lobes – More specifically, in the volume of medial temporal areas: the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the thalamus

Answer 7

White matter is crucially important for the connectivity of the brain – White matter abnormalities have been shown to be correlated with cognitive impairments • Patients have reductions in white matter volume as well as structural abnormalities in the white matter itself – Abnormalities are found in first-episode patients and in people at genetic high risk for the disorder

Answer 8

Some patients show abnormally low frontal lobe activation (known as “hypofrontality”) when they are involved in mentally challenging tasks • Impaired functioning of the frontal lobes is found in patients in the early stages of schizophrenia and in people at high risk for developing the disorder

Answer 9

the overall organization of cells | in the brain

Answer 10

If cells fail to migrate properly, the brain’s cytoarchitecture will be compromised – Increase in neuronal density in some areas of the brains of patients with schizophrenia • Abnormalities in the distribution of cells in the cortex and hippocampus • Patients with schizophrenia are missing “inhibitory interneurons” – May be less able to regulate or dampen down overactivity in certain neural circuits

Answer 11

• Alterations in brain chemistry may be associated with abnormal states • Dopamine: a neurotransmitter linked to schizophrenia – Chlorpromazine blocks dopamine receptors and help patients – Amphetamines produce excess dopamine and mimic a psychotic state that looks like schizophrenia – L-DOPA treated patients display psychotic symptoms • Glutamate: an excitatory neurotransmitter – When glutamate receptors are blocked it creates schizophrenic like symptoms

Answer 12

Expressed emotion (EE): a measure of the family environment • Three main elements: criticism, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement (EOI) • High-EE home environment more than doubles the chance of a relapse – Especially strong for chronically ill patients

Answer 13

• Around 38% of patients have a favorable outcome and can be thought of as being recovered 15 to 25 years after development of the disorder • Around 12 percent of patients need long-term institutionalization • Around one-third show signs of continued negative symptoms

Answer 14

``` FIRST-GENERATION ANTIPSYCHOTICS • Block the action of dopamine SECOND-GENERATION ANTIPSYCHOTICS • Fewer extrapyramidal symptoms OTHER APPROACHES • Researching the role of estrogen ```

Answer 15

• Not all patients benefit from antipsychotic medications • May show clinical improvement but still need help • Side effects may lead patients to discontinue taking the medication • Some patients may try to avoid taking medications because, to them, needing to take medications confirms that they are mentally ill

Answer 16

``` CASE MANAGEMENT FAMILY THERAPY PSYCHOEDUCATION SOCIAL-SKILLS TRAINING COGNITIVE REMEDIATION COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOR THERAPY ```