Depression and Schizophrenia Flashcards
What are unipolar depression risk factors?
- Personality trait
- Genetics
- Social/ environmental effects
- Postnatal
- A side effect of drugs
- Changes in morphology or function of brain regions.
What are the unipolar depression links with stress?
- During stress, there is increased activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis.
- Causes decreased appetite and change with sleep.
What are the unipolar depression pharmacological treatments?
All aim to reduce stress and work to increase serotonin/ noradrenaline activity.
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI’s)= Selectively block the reuptake of serotonin.
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI’s)= Not selective, block adrenaline breakdown.
- Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA’s)= Non-defective and block the action of acetylcholine.
What is bipolar depression?
-Periods of deep depression interrupted by mania.
extreme highs and lows
What are some symptoms of depression?
- Irritable Mood
- Weight gain/loss
- Agitation
- Fatigue
- Feeling of worthlessness
- Poor concentration
- Suicidal thoughts
What are some symptoms of a manic episode?
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Bizzare behaviour
- Attention
- Racing thoughts
- Inflated self-esteem.
What is Schizophrenia?
- A major psychotic illness with an abnormal perception of reality.
- Symptoms usually start within the teenage years.
What are the causes of Schizophrenia?
- Unknown cause.
- Possibly genetic/ drug induced.
What does imaging show when a person has schizophrenia?
- Enlargement of ventricles (push out brain tissues).
- Reduced size of the temporal and frontal lobe.
Treatments for schizophrenia?
Typical antipsychotics: Dopamine antagonists (block some dopamine to reduce hypers)
Atypical= Quetiapine + Olanzapine (work on dopamine + serotonin levels to help balance hypers and hypos)
What is serotonin?
- All about mood, appetite and sleep.
