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MCAT: Behavioral Sciences > Chapter 7: Psychological Disorders > Flashcards

Chapter 7: Psychological Disorders Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

What is the difference between direct and indirect therapy?

A

Direct therapy: treatment that acts on the individual (medication, therapy sessions) – treating patient

Indirect therapy: aims to increase social support by educating family and friends of affected individual – educating patient’s network

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2
Q

What is the difference between positive symptoms and negative symptoms?

A

Positive: behaviors, thoughts, or feelings added to normal behavior
Negative: absence of normal or desired behavior

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3
Q

What are delusions?

A

False beliefs discordant with reality and not shared by others in the individual’s culture that are maintained in spite of strong evidence to the contrary.

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4
Q

What are hallucinations?

A

False or distorted sensory experiences

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5
Q

What is affect?

A

The experience and display of emotion

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6
Q

What is major depressive disorder characterized by?

A

At least one major depressive episode = two weeks of at least five of the following symptoms:

  • depressed mood
  • loss of interest
  • appetite change
  • weight change
  • sleep change
  • decreased energy
  • feeling worthless or guilty
  • difficulty concentrating
  • feeling “slowed down”
  • suicidal thoughts
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7
Q

What is dysthymia?

A

A depressed mood that isn’t severe enough to meet the criteria of a major depressive episode

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8
Q

What is agoraphobia?

A

An anxiety disorder characterized by a fear of being in places or in situations where it might be hard for an individual to escape.

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9
Q

What are dissociative disorders?

A

A person avoids stress by escaping from their identity

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10
Q

What is the difference between somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder?

A

Somatic Symptom Disorder: having at least on somatic symptom that is accompanied by disproportionate concerns about it’s seriousness

Illness Anxiety Disorder: Being consumed with thoughts about having or developing a serious medical condition

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11
Q

What is histrionic personality disorder?

A

Constant attention seeking behavior. May use seductive behavior to gain attention.

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12
Q

What is narcissistic personality disorder?

A

A grandiose sense of self-importance or uniqueness, need for constant admiration.

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13
Q

What are the two classification systems for defining psychological disorders?

A

Biomedical approach

Biopsychosocial approach

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14
Q

What is the biomedical approach to understanding psychological disorders?

A

This approach assumes that any disorder has roots in biomedical disturbances, and thus the solution should also be of a biomedical nature. This approach does not take into account life-style or socioeconomic status.

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15
Q

What is the biopsychosocial approach to understanding psychological disorders?

A

The method assumes that there are biological, psychological, and social components to an individual’s disorder.

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16
Q

Generally, what symptoms are associated with psychotic disorders?

A

delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought, disorganized behavior, catatonia, and negative symptoms.

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17
Q

What are delusions of reference?

A

Belief that common elements in the environment are directed toward the individual (ex. belief that character in TV show is talking directly to them)

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18
Q

What are delusions of persecution?

A

Belief that the person is being deliberately interfered with, discriminated against, plotted against, or threatened.

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19
Q

What are delusions of grandeur?

A

Belief that the person is remarkable in some way, such as being an inventor or religious icon.

20
Q

What is the difference between thought broadcasting and thought insertion?

A

Thought broadcasting: belief that one’s thoughts are broadcasted directly to the external world.

Thought insertion: belief that thoughts are being placed in one’s head.

21
Q

What is disorganized thought?

A

Speech in which ideas shift from one subject to another in such a way that the listener is unable to follow along.
-sometimes called word salad

22
Q

What is disorganized behavior?

A

Inability to carry out activities of daily living, such as paying bills, maintaining hygiene, and keeping appointments.

23
Q

What is catatonia?

A

Certain motor movements characteristic of people with schizophrenia

24
Q

Define avolition.

A

Decreased engagement in purposeful, goal-directed actions.

25
Q

What is the prodromal phase of schizophrenia?

A

This phase occurs before the active phase of schizophrenia and is characterized by deterioration, social withdrawal, role function impairment, inappropriate affect, and unusual experiences.

26
Q

What is seasonal affective disorder?

A

Major depressive disorder with seasonal onset. This disorder may be related to increased melatonin production during the day.

27
Q

What is the catecholamine theory of depression?

A

Too much NEP and serotonin in the synapse leads to mania, while too little leads to depression.

28
Q

Which hormones are responsible for increasing metabolic rate and leading to anxiety like symptoms?

A

Thyroid hormones T3 and T4

29
Q

What is panic disorder characterized by?

A

Repeated panic attacks – fear, trembling, sweating, hyperventilation, sense of impending doom. Overall activation of sympathetic nervous system.

30
Q

What is the relationship between obsessions and compulsions in OCD?

A

Obsessions raise the individual’s stress levels and the compulsions relieve this stress.

31
Q

What is body dysmorphic disorder?

A

A person has an unrealistic negative evaluation of their personal appearance and attractiveness, usually directed at a specific body part.

32
Q

What are the symptoms associated with PTSD?

A
  • Intrusion symptoms (reliving the event, flashbacks)
  • Avoidance symptoms (deliberate attempt to avoid people and places associated with trauma)
  • Negative cognitive symptoms
  • Arousal symptoms (increased startle response, irritability, anxiety)
33
Q

What is dissociative amnesia?

A

Inability to recall past experiences

34
Q

What is dissociative identity disorder?

A

Two or more personalities that recurrently take control of a person’s behavior. Components of identity fail to integrate.

35
Q

What are somatic disorders?

A

Bodily symptoms that cause significant stress or impairment

36
Q

What is conversion disorder?

A

A type of somatic disorder characterized by unexplained symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory functions (vision, hearing) after a traumatic event.

37
Q

List the cluster A personality disorders

A

“Weird” Cluster, 3 total
Paranoid - distrust and suspicion of others
Schizotypal - pattern of odd or magical thinking
Schizoid - detachment from social relationships and restricted range of emotional expression

38
Q

List the cluster B personality disorders

A

“Wild” Cluster, 4 total
Antisocial - disregard and violation of the rights of others, lack of remorse
Borderline - instability in interpersonal behavior, mood, and self-image
Histrionic - constant attention seeking behavior
Narcissistic - grandiose sense of self-importance

39
Q

List of the cluster C personality disorders

A

“Worried” Cluster, 3 total
Avoidant - extreme shyness and fear of rejection
Dependent - continuous need for reassurance typically from one specific person
Obsessive compulsive - perfectionistic and inflexible, tends to like rules and order (not the same as OCD!)

40
Q

What is the biological basis of schizophrenia?

A
  • Increased dopamine in brain

- potentially genetic

41
Q

What is the biological basis of depression?

A
  • High glucose metabolism in amygdala
  • Hippocampal atrophy after long duration of illness
  • High levels of cortisol
  • Decreased production of NEP, serotonin, and dopamine
42
Q

What is the biological basis of bipolar disorders?

A
  • Increased NEP and serotonin

- Genetics

43
Q

What is the biological basis of Alzheimer’s disease?

A
  • brain atrophy
  • enlarged cerebral ventricles
  • deficient blood flow to parietal lobes correlated with cognitive decline
  • Reduced levels of acetylcholine
  • beta-amyloid plaques
  • neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein
44
Q

What is the biological basis of Parkinson’s disease?

A

-decreased dopamine production in the substantia nigra which causes disfunction in the basal ganglia

45
Q

Bipolar I vs. Bipolar II

A

Bipolar I: manic episodes with or without major depressive episodes

Bipolar II: hypomania with at least one major depressive episode

MCAT: Behavioral Sciences (13 decks)

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