Features, Symptoms, And Treatments

Question 1

Rates

Answer 1

• 1% of population suffer from schizophrenic episode

- in 2017, 1 in 100 ppl will have suffered schizophrenic episode in UK

Question 2

Validity and reliability of rates

Answer 2

Validity:
Rates show precise numbers of patients treated so more valid and accurate representation of how many suffer SZ in real world

Reliability:
Number of SZ patients in hospitals can be checked via admission rates so more reliable as able to see if data on SZ is consistent

Question 3

Gender

Answer 3

• males have earlier onset (14-25 yrs)
• later onset for females (25-35)
• higher rates of SZ in males
• BUSHE et al (2010) suicide rates higher in males

Question 4

Validity and reliability for gender

Answer 4

Validity:
Diagnosis can be affected by gender bias as negative symptoms in women may be diagnosed as depression so less valid as not accurate

Reliability:
Gender rates for suicide due to SZ may not be accurate as suicide can be due to other factors like loss of family so not consistent measure of impact of gender

Question 5

Positive symptoms

Answer 5

They add to a persons thinking and behavioural repertoire

• hallucinations
• delusions
• disordered thinking

Question 6

Hallucinations

Answer 6

• sensory experiences
• see, hear, touch, smell things that do not exist but seem very real
• voices are often harsh/critical/controlling of the person, give a running commentary, can also be kind

Question 7

Delusions

Answer 7

• persistent ideas/beliefs that are clearly untrue but feel very true
  paranoia: believing they’re being persecuted in that someone wants to harm them/is spying on them

Delusions of grandeur: believe they’re in a prominent position with power over others

Thought insertion: thoughts have been given to them by someone else

Question 8

Disordered thinking

Answer 8

• difficulty putting thoughts in logical order, unable to organise incoming sensory information
• struggle to concentrate
• jumbled speech, ‘word salad’

Question 9

Negative symptoms

Answer 9

Often occur first, when something is missing from a persons normal behaviour repertoire

• emotional disturbance
• psychomotor disturbances
• lack of volition

Question 10

Emotional disturbance

Answer 10

-may display ‘blunting’ which involves responding inappropriately to news/appear to have turned off their emotions

Question 11

Psychomotor disturbances

Answer 11

• some may become mute and unmoving
• others may acquire wild/overexcited behaviour
• may stay in an unusual posture for hours

Question 12

Lack of volition

Answer 12

• social withdrawal like avoiding contact with family and friends, secluded and isolated
• develop apathy so they lack energy/loss of motivation/ interest in daily activities and lack of pleasure in everyday events

Question 13

Types of schizophrenia

Answer 13

• paranoid: hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, delusions of persecution
• disorganised: inappropriate emotional responses, disordered speech patterns, NO HALLUCINATIONS
• catatonic: little movement, unusual body positions, very withdrawn from social world
• residual: low levels of positive symptoms, high negative
• undifferentiated: ‘catch all’ category for those who don’t meet the criteria for the other types
• schizoaffective: patients having episodes of SZ symptoms but prominent features of other disorders, not enough to classify either disorders

Question 14

Neurotransmitter explanation

Answer 14

-changes in neurotransmitter levels in specific pathways can lead to symptoms associated with SZ

Question 15

Mesolimbic

Answer 15

• low levels of glutamate = GABA stop inhibiting dopamine = too much dopamine = positive symptoms
• too much serotonin = increase activity of 5HT2 = low glutamate = increase dopamine = positive symptoms

Question 16

Mesocortical

Answer 16

• low glutamate = low dopamine = negative symptoms

- blocking D2 can lead to lack of sensitivity to dopamine = negative symptoms

Question 17

Evaluation of neurotransmitter

Answer 17

• Carlsson: ppl given amphetamines have higher dopamine release in basal ganglia than age matched controls so more likely to have SZ symptoms
• Seeman: density of receptors like D4 that is 6x greater in SZ ppl than non SZ, this increase in sensitivity to neurotransmitter lead to psychotic symptoms
• Depatie & Lal: giving drugs that increases dopamine doesn’t create symptoms of SZ as would be expected if excess dopamine caused it so it’s not the only explanation of causes of SZ

Question 18

Biological explanation

Answer 18

• inherited from parents

- variations in genes contribute to risks of developing SZ

Question 19

Evaluation of genetic explanation

Answer 19

+ gottesman: severe SZ concordance rate for MZ twins was 75% but only 24% for DZ shows genetics are involved in SZ

– hickling: stress of urban life made African immigrants in britain 8-10x more likely to experience SZ shows that environment trauma is also an explanation not just genetic