Cog Psych Disorders Flashcards
Schizophrenia
A serious mental condition of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.
Theory of Mind
In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them. A theory of mind includes the knowledge that others’ beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and thoughts may be different from one’s own.
Referential Delusion
The term ‘referential delusions’ refers to the mistaken belief that ordinary events and normal human behaviour have hidden meanings that somehow relate to the individual experiencing the delusions.
Grandiose Delusions
Grandiose delusions are unfounded or inaccurate beliefs that one has special powers, wealth, mission, or identity.
Paranoid Delusions
Paranoid delusions, also called delusions of persecution, reflect profound fear and anxiety along with the loss of the ability to tell what’s real and what’s not real. They might make you feel like: A co-worker is trying to hurt you, like poisoning your food. Your spouse or partner is cheating on you.
Anterograde Amnesia
Type of memory loss that forms when you can’t form new memories after the event that caused the amnesia. Can greatly affect a persons ability to learn or retain new information.
Retrograde Amnesia
Can’t recall memories from the past.
Consolidation of Memory
Memory consolidation refers to the process by which a temporary, labile memory is transformed into a more stable, long-lasting form.
Multiple Trace Theory (MTT)
Multiple Trace Theory (MTT) is a memory consolidation model. In this model, hippocampus is always involved in storage and retrieval of episodic memory, but semantic memory can be established in neocortex.
Episodic Memory
Long term memory that involves conscious recollection of previous experiences together with their context in terms of time, place, associated emotions etc.
Standard Consolidation Theory
The Standard Consolidation Theory (SCT) proposes that, over time, memories become independent of the hippocampus.
Semantic Memory
A type of long-term memory, storehouse of permanent knowledge, involving the capacity to recall words, concepts, or numbers, which is essential for the use and understanding of language, facts etc.
Temporally Graded Retrograded Amnesia
Retrograde amnesia is usually temporally graded, which means that your most recent memories are affected first and your oldest memories are usually spared. This is known as Ribot’s law. The extent of retrograde amnesia can vary significantly.
Non-Graded Retrograde Amnesia
Focal Retrograde Amnesia can also be called “isolated” or “pure” retrograde amnesia. Patients with this type of retrograde amnesia experience no anterograde effects. They maintain the ability to form new memories.
Sense of Agency
Sense of agency refers to the feeling of control over actions and their consequences. Understanding that what you do has an influence on the world around you.
Sense of Body Ownership
The experience of one’s body as one’s own. This central part of human conscious experience determines the boundary between the self and the external environment, a crucial distinction in perception, action, and cognition. The feeling of mine-ness that we perceive toward our body parts, feelings or thoughts.
Mention Some Disorders of the Self
Schizophrenia, alien hand syndrome, somatoparaphrenia, phantom limbs, anorexia nervosa, out of body experiences.
Alien Hand Syndrome, Anarchic Hand Syndrome
Is an interesting situation in which a person loses control of his or her hand, which starts to act independently. It describes involuntary complex goal-directed activity of one limb. Results from neurological damage to the supplementary motor area.
Somatoparaphrenia
A delusional belief whereby a patient feels that a paralyzed limb does not belong to his body; the symptom is typically associated with unilateral neglect and most frequently with anosognosia for hemiplegia. Deny their limb. Generally have had a stroke to the right half of their brain affecting the left side of the body, arm. Result of brain damage to two separate parts of the right front part of the brain responsible paralysis of their left arm and for our belief system.
Anosognosia
Someone is unaware of their own mental health condition or that they can’t perceive their condition accurately.
Phantom Limbs
A vivid perception that a limb that has been removed or amputated is still present in the body and performing its normal functions.
Anorexia Nervosa
is an eating disorder characterised by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight.
Out of Body Experiences
In the fields of cognitive science and psychology OBEs are considered dissociative experiences arising from different psychological and neurological factors. Scientists consider the OBE to be an experience from a mental state, like a dream or an altered state of consciousness without recourse to the paranormal.
Flow State Theory
Flow state theory suggests that when individuals are in a state of flow, they experience deep immersion, focus, and intrinsic motivation in their activities.
Delusions of Control
Feeling that actions, thoughts or emotions are cause by an external entity: thought insertion, thought broadcast, thought withdrawal, made emotions, made movements. Common in schizophrenia, mood disorders, dissociative disorders. Breakdown in the in the boundary between the self and other. Can not differentiate between self generated and externally events. Impairment of agency.
AGENCY - Theory of Apparent Mental Causation
The experience of willing an act arises from interpreting one’s thought as the cause of the act. Conscious will is thus experienced as a function of
priority - The thought must occur before the event
consistency - The thought is compatible with the event
exclusivity - the thought is the only possible cause for the event
Delusion
A false belief or judgment about external reality, held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, occurring especially in mental conditions.
Mirrored-self Misidentification
Mirrored-self misidentification, often referred as the ‘mirror sign’, is a delusion characterized by the inability to recognize one’s own reflected image, often associated with the intact capacity to recognize others in the mirror. Can be a mirror agnosia or an impairment in face perception (prosopagnosia). Result of brain damage to two areas on the right front part of the brain responsible for our belief system.
Capgras Delusion
Capgras syndrome (CS), or delusion of doubles, is a delusional misidentification syndrome. It is a syndrome characterised by a false belief that an identical duplicate has replaced someone significant to the patient. Accuse their spouse of being an imposter of their actual spouse. Due to brain damage.
Cotard Delusion
People with Cotard’s syndrome (also called walking corpse syndrome or Cotard’s delusion) believe that parts of their body are missing, or that they are dying, dead, or don’t exist. They may think nothing exists. Often will say they are dead.
Fregoli Delusion
Fregoli delusion is the mistaken belief that some person currently present in the deluded person’s environment (typically a stranger) is a familiar person in disguise.
Different Types of Delusions
Mirrored-self misidentification, Capgras delusion, Cotard delusion, Fregoli delusion, Somatoparaphrenia, Alien control
Two Factor Theory of Delusional Belief
The two-factor theory of delusion formation is a very influential theory proposing that monothematic delusions are caused by at least two factors. Two-factor theory suggests delusions require two neuropsychological impairments
One in perception (which furnishes content)
Second in belief evaluation (that augers formation and maintenance).
Mirror Agnosia
Mirror Agnosia is a condition where even though the person knows that he is looking at mirror as evidenced by ability to identify the frame and the glass of the mirror, he fails to recognize the objects that are reflected in the mirror as reflections.
Monothematic and Polythematic delusions
Mono, singular, poly, more than one delusion. People can be or suffer from monothematic delusions and polythematic delusions.
Defective Belief Evaluation and Delusions
Usually comes with brain damage to the right hemisphere. Area of the brain that holds belief evaluation is damaged. The damage doesn’t cause a delusional state, rather there is damage to another part of the brain ie an emotional response changes where there is a constant reminder and this with a damaged belief evaluation causes a delusion. 2 factor brain damage.
Hypnosis
A social interaction between a hypnotist and a subject. Hypnotist offers suggestions that change the way the subject experiences themselves and the world. Involves change in attention, absorption, and reality monitoring.
Hypnosis Suggestions
Ideomotor - thoughts becoming actions
Challenge - suggesting a particular state of affairs and ask subject to do the opposite
Cognitive / delusory - involve hallucinations or delusions
Posthypnotic amnesia - forgetting
Hypnosis Procedure
Induction
Hypnotic items
-suggestion
-tests
-cancellation
De-induction
2 Types of Hypnosis Research
Intrinsic, exploring the nature of hypnosis itself
Instrumental, using hypnosis as a tool to investigate another phenomena.
In Schizophrenia, Describe What is Negative and Positive Symptoms
Negative symptoms are characteristics that are missing ie apathy, positive symptoms you did not experience or would normally experience ie delusions, hallucinations.
What are the Characteristic Symptoms of Schizophrenia and What is Required for Diagnosis?
Diagnosis requires any 2 or more of characteristic symptoms, where at least one of the first 3 must be present:
1. Delusions (mistaken beliefs)
2. Hallucinations (misleading percepts)
3. Disorganised speech &/or behaviour
4. Negative symptoms (eg apathy, flat affect, anhedonia)
Drop in social and occupational functioning
Signs present for at least 6 months
Common Delusional Themes in Schizophrenia
Persecutory
Delusions of reference
Grandiose and religious
Delusions of control
Loss of boundary, mind reading through broadcast
Somatic delusions
Other, jealousy, guilt
Characteristic Symptoms in Hallucinations
Any sense
Can be one or more senses involved
-Auditory
–non-verbal, bumps, music
–verbal hallucinations
—voices commenting
—voices conversing
-Visual
-Somatic - body
-Olfactory - smell - gustatory - taste
What is the Difference Between a Hallucination and a Delusion?
A hallucination is something that you experience through the senses, perceptual experience, a delusion is something that you believe to be true with conviction. Hallucination can lead to a delusion. Patients can also identify a hallucination and not believe it whereas delusions they believe.
Common Forms of Disorganised Speech in Schizophrenia
-Derailment - starts off answering questions or speaking on topic and derails off topic
-Tangentiality - goes off on a tangent, chain of thought but doesn’t address the topic or question
-Illogicality - illogical response and making statements like you can learn from a rock
What are the Characteristic Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia?
Flat affect
Alogia - lack of information, one word
Apathy - lack of interest or concern
Anhedonia - loss of joy and pleasure
Asociality - withdrawal of interacting with other people
Define What Heterogeneous Means in Schizophrenia.
This means there are many characteristics, and each characteristic is variable in natures. There is no one specific characteristic variable that identifies schizophrenia.
Social Cognition
Social cognition focus’ how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. Mental process that underlie social interactions.
Studies of Social Cognition in Schizophrenia Focus on What 3 Areas?
1 Emotion recognition
2 Attributional biases - the tendency to explain a person’s behaviour by referring to their character rather than any situational factor.
3 Theory of Mind - the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them.
Synaesthesia
Ordinary stimulus, extraordinary experience. Unusual way of experiencing the world. ie sound might have a colour, taste or smell.
What is the most common type of Synaesthesia?
Grapheme-colour: seeing a word or letter evokes an experience of colour.
Define Synesthetic Congruency Effect
Refers to correspondences between more basic stimulus features (e.g., pitch, lightness, brightness, size) in different modalities.
3 Characteristics of Synaesthesia
Consistent, requires awareness of the inducing stimulus, involuntary
Define Attentional Blink
Attentional blink is a phenomenon that reflects temporal limitations in the ability to deploy visual attention. When people must identify two visual stimuli in quick succession, accuracy for the second stimulus is poor if it occurs within 200 to 500 ms of the first.
Modularity of Mind
The mind is constructed from several independently functioning, insulated subsystems, the inputs are restricted to a particular class of stimulus and operations of which cannot be influenced by activity in other modules or systems.
AGENCY - The Comparator Model
Wolpert 1997, According to the comparator model the actual sensory consequences of an action are used to elicit the sense of agency. As such, the model predicts that the sense of agency arises after the action occurs. There is some evidence that this prediction is not borne out.
Attenuated
having been reduced in force, effect, or value.
3 Body Self-Perception Disorders
Somatoparaphrenia, phantom limb, anorexia nervosa
Name 6 Types of Delusional Beliefs
Mirrored-self misidentification, Capgras delusion, Cotard delusion, Fregoli delusion, Somatoparaphrenia, Alien Control
What is meant by disorders?
Abnormal performance level, unusual perceptual experience
Describe the apparent mental causation model of agency
The experience of willing an act arises from interpreting one’s thought as the cause of the act. Conscious will is thus experienced as a function of the priority, consistency, and exclusivity of the thought about the action.
Compare and contrast the sub-type based, syndrome-based, and cognitive-based approaches to understanding schizophrenia.
The understanding of schizophrenia has evolved over time, and researchers have proposed different approaches to conceptualize and categorize the disorder. Three notable approaches are subtype-based, syndrome-based, and cognitive-based approaches. Here’s a comparison and contrast of these perspectives:
Subtype-Based Approach:
Definition: This approach classifies schizophrenia into subtypes based on specific symptom patterns or characteristics.
Characteristics: Subtypes may include paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, residual, and undifferentiated schizophrenia.
Advantages: Provides a way to differentiate and categorize different symptom profiles, aiding in treatment planning and understanding the heterogeneity of the disorder.
Critiques: Over time, this approach has faced criticism due to the considerable overlap and variability in symptoms within subtypes, making it challenging to establish clear boundaries.
Syndrome-Based Approach:
Definition: This approach views schizophrenia as a complex syndrome with a set of symptoms that tend to co-occur. It emphasizes the overall clinical picture rather than specific subtypes.
Characteristics: Focuses on a cluster of symptoms, including positive (hallucinations, delusions), negative (social withdrawal, lack of motivation), and cognitive symptoms.
Advantages: Captures the multidimensional nature of schizophrenia and acknowledges the diversity of symptom presentations.
Critiques: Some argue that this approach may oversimplify the complexity of schizophrenia and may not adequately address the underlying mechanisms of the disorder.
Cognitive-Based Approach:
Definition: This approach emphasizes disturbances in cognitive processes, such as attention, memory, and executive functions, as central to understanding schizophrenia.
Characteristics: Focuses on cognitive deficits as core features of the disorder, highlighting how they contribute to the manifestation of other symptoms.
Advantages: Provides insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of schizophrenia and helps develop targeted cognitive interventions.
Critiques: Critics argue that while cognitive deficits are a crucial aspect, they may not capture the full complexity of the disorder, as emotional and social factors are also significant.
Comparison:
Overlap: There is overlap between these approaches, as cognitive deficits are often observed in both subtype and syndrome-based classifications.
Holistic vs. Specific: The syndrome-based approach takes a more holistic view of schizophrenia, considering a broad range of symptoms, while the subtype-based approach focuses on specific symptom profiles.
Contrast:
Focus: Subtype-based and syndrome-based approaches focus on symptom patterns, whereas the cognitive-based approach emphasizes cognitive processes and deficits.
Treatment Implications: Subtype-based and syndrome-based approaches may inform treatment strategies based on symptom profiles, while the cognitive-based approach may guide interventions targeting specific cognitive impairments.
In contemporary research and clinical practice, there is often an acknowledgment of the limitations of rigid classifications, and a more dimensional and transdiagnostic approach is gaining popularity. This approach considers a spectrum of symptoms and recognizes the individual variability in symptom expression and cognitive functioning in schizophrenia.
