Mental Disorders Flashcards
What are mood and anxiety disorders?
Extremes in brain states
What is schizophrenia in simple terms?
A loss of contact with reality, a disrupt or of thought, perception, mood, and movement
How common is schizophrenia? How about likelihood between sexes?
~1% in adults, 2x more likely in men
When does schizophrenia usually show in men?
Adolescence
When does schizophrenia usually show in females?
Later in life
What are the 3 symptom clusters for schizophrenia?
Positive, negative, and cognitive
Are all 3 clusters of symptoms exhibited by patients at one time?
No
What are positive symptoms?
Symptoms that are NOT present in healthy people
- delusions
- hallucinations
What are negative symptoms?
Impairments of normal functions
- reduced expression of emotion
- social withdrawal
- impoverished thought and speech
- lack of motivation
What are cognitive symptoms?
Impairment to working memory and executive function (so hard to treat)
How important is genetics in schizophrenia?
REALLY fucking important
What percent of identical twins get schizophrenia?
50%
Why don’t 100% of twins get schizophrenia?
Other factors need to turn the harmful genes on
What are other factors affecting schizophrenia?
Epigenetics and environmental factors (like drugs n shit)
What is the dopamine hypothesis?
Schizophrenia is caused by too MUCH dopamine (believed cus drugs that release tons of dopamine cause psychotic effects)
What are treatments that target the dopamine hypothesis?
D2 receptor antagonists
What is the Dopamine Imbalance Hypothesis?
Too much DA in the Mesolithic DA pathway and too little in the mesocortical DA pathway
What does the Substantia Nigra do?
Project axons to the striatum, initiate voluntary movement, degeneration of which causes PD
What is the VTA?
Ventral tagmental area
What two pathways do the VTA give rise to?
Mesolithic DA system (to nucleus accumbens which plays a part in reward and addiction)
Mesocortical dopamine system which goes to the prefrontal cortex
What is the neuro developmental hypothesis?
Early life stresses increase risk of schizophrenia
What is the evidence for the neuro developmental hypothesis?
Patients showing less gray matter in prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, amygdala, hippocampus, and enlarged ventricles which many believe happen during in utero
What are some of treatments for schizophrenia?
- antipsychotic drugs (diminish positive symptoms)
- no meds benefit the cognitive symptoms
- d2 receptor antagonists
- Lithium
- 2nd and 3rd gen APs