Disorders Flashcards
What is narcolepsy?
This is a disorder when people unexpectedly fall asleep, because of defective orexin neurons. Hypothalamic neurons release proteins called orexins which are needed to keep us awake
What are 5 disorders of consciousness?
- Schizophrenia
- Depression
- Seasonal affective depressive disorder
- bipolar disorder
- sensory neglect
What is schizophrenia?
It is a disorder of thinking. and can cause psychosis. There are positive and negative symptoms.
What are some positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
hallucinations
delusions
paranoia
What are some negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
social withdrawal, apathy, catatonia
What is schizophrenia thought to be related to? Why is this?
the brain dopamine system, because drugs that are useful to treat the disease decrease dopamine transmission and increasing dopamine activity can produce similar symptoms
What is the underlying cause of schizophrenia?
it is unknown, it could be genetic predisposition, developmental and environmental factors
Describe depression
persistent sadness, apathy, feelings of hopelessness, loss (or gain) of appetite, sleep disturbance
What are the two types of depression and what do they mean?
- endogenous: arises without apparent bad like-event. This is harder to treat
- reactive: in response to a bad life event
What is depression thought to be related to? Why is this?
the brain serotonin system because the drugs that are useful to treating it usually increase serotonin (by blocking reuptake)
What is the underlying cause of depression?
it is unknown but is likely to be genetic predisposition and environmental factors
What is seasonal affective depressive disorder?
annual depression
ie. when you get depressed only in the winter
What is the underlying cause of seasonal affective depressive disorder?
eg. day length decreasing is associated with many neurochemical changes to the brain including the change in melatonin levels
What is bipolar disorder?
There is a disturbance in the biological rhythms in the nervous system and regions of the brain get out of sinc with each other.
What are some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder?
Depression alternates with mania. Mania is elevated mood, high energy, grandiosity, poor judgement, delusions
What is the underlying cause of bipolar disorder?
Genetic predisposition
What is the treatment of bipolar disorder?
Li+ can enter Na+ channels during APs to interact with cells and can smooth out fluctuations in neuronal excitability
It is likely a network problem, involving communication links and then the excitability of parts of the brain that should be coordinated falls out of synchrony to the mood swings
Describe sensory neglect
If there is a lesion in the parietal lobe association cortex, people don’t incorporate that part of the environment into their awareness
Whats is Parkinson’s disease?
This is when dopamine releasing neurons in the brain die and it can cause difficulty moving as movements can’t be planned
What are some treatments for Parkinson’s?
Dopamine replacing drugs
Deep brain stimulation
transplantation of dopamine cells
