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Biopsychology > Exam 4 - Biopsychology of psychiatric disorders > Flashcards

Exam 4 - Biopsychology of psychiatric disorders Flashcards

1
Q

Schizophrenia

A

mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality

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2
Q

What are the hallmark symptoms of schizophrenia?

A
  • disturbances in thought - delusions (erroneous beliefs)
  • disturbances in perception - hallucinations (sensory experience with no stimuli)
  • disturbances in movement - psychomotor agitation or retardation, or catatonia
  • disturbances in affect - show inappropriate emotion or no emotion
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3
Q

What are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

A
  • delusions and hallucinations
  • normal people do not exhibit these symptoms
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4
Q

What are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

A
  • decreased speech, emotion, or movement (catatonia)
  • absence or deficit of normally present behaviors
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5
Q

What is the course of schizophrenia?

A
  1. prodromal phase - person becomes socially withdrawn and school or work performance declines
  2. active phase - more acute symptoms of the disorder appear, such as hallucinations and delusions
  3. residual phase - some recovery of functioning occurs
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6
Q

What is the dopamine hypothesis/theory of schizophrenia?

A
  • excess of activity in the dopamine system results in the positive symptoms (delusions and hallucinations)
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7
Q

What does Chlorpromazine do?

A

dopamine antagonist, which blocks dopamine receptors, which in turn improves positive symptoms

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8
Q

What drugs produce the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

A

amphetamine, cocaine, and L-dopa, because they increase dopamine levels

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9
Q

What percentage of people do not experience relief from the positive symptoms?

A

30%

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10
Q

There are low levels of what two neurotransmitters in people with schizophrenia?

A

GABA and glutamate

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11
Q

What is one of the side effects of DA antagonists (drug to treat schizophrenia)?

A
  • tardive dyskinesia - a motor disorder with facial tics and involuntary limb movements
  • dopamine is important for movement, and DA antagonists block the uptake of it
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12
Q

What are the neural changes in people with schizophrenia?

A
  • enlarged lateral ventricles
  • loss of dendritic material in the prefrontal cortex
  • neurons in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex are disorganized
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13
Q

What is the hypofrontality theory?

A
  • the negative symptoms of schizophrenia are caused by decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex
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14
Q

The more closely related to someone with schizophrenia, the ______ likely someone is to have it.

A

more, the concordance rate for identical twins is 50%

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15
Q

What type of schizophrenia did John Nash have?

A

paranoid schizophrenia

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16
Q

Depressive disorder

A

disorder in which depression is the only mood state

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17
Q

Depression

A

feelings of extraordinary sadness and dejection, characterized by intense, continuing feeling of sadness and worthlessness

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18
Q

Major Depression

A

a type of depressive disorder characterized by a depressed mood for at least two weeks, no intermittent moods

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19
Q

Dysthymia

A

also called persistent depressive disorder, a chronic form of depression, usually of a low level

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20
Q

Bipolar disorder

A

affective disorder characterized by episodes of mania and depression

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21
Q

What is the difference between bipolar 1 & 2 disorder?

A
  • bipolar 1 has mania and depression
  • bipolar 2 has hypomania and depression
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22
Q

Cyclothymia

A

one of the bipolar disorders characterized by less intense episodes of mania and depression

23
Q

Hypomania

A

a milder form of mania in which occupational or social functioning is not impaired, also occurs for less time than manic episodes

24
Q

What are some symptoms of depression?

A
  • loss of energy and concentration, sleep disturbance, change in appetite, loss of interest in activities, agitation, suicidal ideation
25
What are the structural abnormalities in the brain that are seen in affective disorders (depressive and bipolar disorders)?
- reduction in volume of gray matter of orbital frontal cortex, and prefrontal in individuals with bipolar disorders - reductions in brain volume in the hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamic nuclei (limbic system)
26
In depression, there is a reduction of metabolic activity where in the brain? Where is there decreased blood flow and metabolic activity?
- left frontal cortex - cingulate gyrus and the basal ganglia
27
What is the monoamine hypothesis of depression? What are other findings related to this?
- depression is caused by decreased activity at noradrenic and serotonergic synapses - 5-HIAA (a serotonin metabolite) is lower in people with major depression - Norepi. metabolites increases during manic episodes
28
Drugs that increase ________ levels are associated with a reduction in depression.
monoamine, norepi and serotonin
29
What mood stabilizing drug is clinically effective in treating mania? What NT does it decrease?
lithium carbonate, decreases the reuptake of norepi, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, neuropeptides, and glutamate
30
Locus coeruleus
a major site of norepi. synthesis, located in the pons
31
What does stimulation of the locus coeruleus cause? What do these behaviors resemble? What does this mean?
- excessive arousal, hypervigilance, and suppression of exploratory activity in primates - resemble behaviors of depressed humans - suggests that the locus coeruleus has a role in depression
32
Depressed patients may have hyperresponsive cholinergic systems. What does this mean?
these systems create acetylcholine, which hyperstimulates the locus coeruleus
33
What NTs do depressed people lack?
GABA, serotonin and norepi.
34
What drugs are used to treat the affective disorders? Explain what each does.
- Tricyclic compounds: increase norepi and serotonin by interfering with their reuptake, can cause dizziness a drowsiness - Monoamnie oxidase inhibitors: increase norepi and serotonin by preventing their breakdown - Serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRI): decreases serotonin reuptake, most affective with atypical depression
35
What is ECT? What is it used to treat? What might be a more effective application of this therapy in order to get less side effects?
- electroconvulsive therapy - affective disorders - a right unilateral ECT may be as effective, and cause less side effects
36
What is TMS?
- transcranial magnetic stimulation - alternative treatment to ECT
37
Concordance rate, what is it for bipolar disorder and major depression?
- the rate at which any characteristic occurs in both members of a pair of relatives - bipolar: 20-75% in identical twins - major depression: 50% in identical twins
38
Learned helplessness, what is this associated with?
- pattern of depression-like behavior produced by repeated exposure to an inescapable noxious event - heightened locus coeruleus activity
39
People with depression enter REM ______.
earlier
40
What hormone do depressed people have an excess of?
cortisol
41
Dexamethasone suppression test
test to determine whether the administration of dexamethasone suppresses ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) and cortisone secretion; many depressed people have an abnormal response
42
What are the animal models for anxiety?
- elevated-plus-maze - defensive-burying - risk-assessment test
43
What part of the brain is thought to be involved in anxiety? What NTs?
- amygdala - serotonin and GABA
44
Tourette's syndrome
a disorder of tics, involuntary movements or vocalizations
45
The pathway involved in which other disorder is believed to be involved in Tourette's? Which pathway is this?
- OCD - basal ganglia circuit
46
What is Tourette's usually treated with?
neuroleptics, antipsychotics
47
Generalized anxiety disorder
chronic or excessive worry about multiple events and activities despite the absence of causal stimulus - has to occur for at least 6 months
48
What are some symptoms of anxiety?
restlessness, trouble concentrating, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, etc.
49
Anxiety
fear in the absence of threat
50
Phobia
strong and persistent fear recognized as excessive or unreasonable, triggered by a specific object of situation
51
Panic disorder
occurrence of panic attacks that seem to come "out of the blue" - worry about additional attacks
52
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
obsessive thoughts alleviated by compulsive actions
53
Posttraumatic stress disorder
trauma memory reexperienced involuntarily, with some emotional force
54
What is used to treat anxiety disorders?
- benzodiazepines: GABA agonists - SSRIs: decreases serotonin reuptake

Biopsychology (12 decks)

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