Neurodevelopmental Disorders Flashcards
Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Disorder marked by the inability to focus attention, or overactive and impulsive behavior, or both
ADHD can’t control their impulse to pay attention to something they shouldn’t
For 6 months or more individual frequently displays at least six of the following symptoms of inattention
For 6 months or more, individual frequently displays at least 6 symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity
Individual shows symptoms in more than one setting
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD):
Disorder marked by extreme unresponsiveness to others, severe communication deficits, and highly repetitive and rigid behaviors, interests, and activities
displays continual deficiencies in various areas of communication and social interaction including social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, development and maintenance of relationships.
Individual develops symptoms by early childhood
Intellectual Disability (ID)
Disorder marked by intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that are well below average
Previously called mental retardation, Low IQ of 70 or below. Individual displays deficient intellectual functioning in areas such as reasoning, problem-solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from experience. The deficits are reflected by clinical assessment and intelligence tests
Neurocognitive Disorders
Group of disorders in which the primary problem is in cognitive function, impairments in cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving, and perception
Delirium
A rapidly developing, acute disturbance in attention, and orientation that makes it very difficult to concentrate and think in a clear and organized manner. Common in elderly people, state of massive confusion. Over the course of hours or a few days, individual experiences fast-moving and fluctuating disturbances in attention and orientation to the environment
Individual also displays a significant cognitive disturbance
Alzheimer’s Disease
Fatal degenerative disease in which brain neurons progressively die, characterized by loss of memory, reasoning, emotion, and control of bodily functions
As a person’s condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death
Eating and Feeding Disorders
Mental disorders defined by abnormal eating habits. May involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual’s physical and mental health
People with eating disorders can appear underweight, of healthy weight, or overweight
Anorexia Nervosa (Anorexia)
Life-threatening eating disorder that involves intense fear of weight gain or becoming overweight, distorted perception of one’s weight/body shape, persistent restriction of caloric intake. Body dysmorphia, increasing cognitive misperception of being overweight despite evidence to the contrary
The risk of death is greatly increased in individuals with this disease (Anorexia has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness)
End of menstrual cycle leading to infertility, bone loss, loss of skin integrity, damage to heart and blood vessels, kidney damage, gastrointestinal damage, hair loss
Bulimia Nervosa (Bulimia)
Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors for the intake of food, such as purging
Bingeing is characterized by eating a large amount of food in a short period of time
A purge can include self-induced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives/diuretics, fasting, or excessive exercise
Binge Eating Disorder “Compulsive Overeating”
Uncontrollably eating a large amount of food in a short period of time; after a bingeing episode a person will not purge and will feel an extreme sense of guilt
Episodes of bingeing may be a method of self-soothing in the face of emotional stressors; social isolation and loneliness
Somatic Symptom Disorders
Characterized by psychiatric symptoms associated with physical complaints
People primarily seen in medical settings where patients/clients complain of physical symptoms
Somatic Symptom Disorder (SDD)
diagnosed when a person has a significant focus on physical symptoms, such as pain, weakness or shortness of breath, to a level that results in major distress and/or problems functioning. The individual has excessive thoughts, feelings and behaviors relating to the physical symptoms.
Characterized by physical symptoms including pain, and high anxiety in these individuals about having a disease
Person experiences at least one upsetting or repeatedly disruptive physical (somatic) symptom
Person experiences an unreasonable number of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding the nature or implications of the physical symptoms, including one of the following
Repeated, excessive thoughts about their seriousness
Continual high anxiety about their nature or health implications
Disproportionate amounts of time and energy spent on the symptoms of their health implications
Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD)
Characterized by a preoccupation with a serious medical or health condition with either no or mild physical (somatic) symptoms such as nausea or dizziness that has persisted for 6 months
Person is preoccupied with thoughts about having or getting a significant illness. In reality, person has no or, at most, mild somatic symptoms
Person has easily triggered, high anxiety about health
Person displays unduly high numbers of health-related behaviors (e.g. keeps focusing on body) or dysfunctional health-avoidance behaviors (e.g., avoids doctors)
Conversion Disorder
Characterized by loss of some bodily function without physical damage to the affected organs or their neural connections
Symptoms usually last as long a anxiety is present
Presence of at least one symptom or deficit that affects voluntary or sensory function
Symptoms are found to be inconsistent with known neurological or medical disease
Significant distress or impairment
Dissociative Disorders
Psychological disorders that involve a sudden loss or memory (amnesia) or change in identity
If extremely stressed, an individual can experience separation of conscious awareness from previous memories and thoughts
Dissociative Amnesia
Loss of memory for a traumatic event or period of time that is too painful for an individual to remember
Extreme version is dissociative fugue (forget about personal identities and details of past lives, flee to new location)
Person cannot recall important life-related information, typically traumatic or stressful information. The memory problem is more than simple forgetting
Significant distress or impairment
The symptoms are not caused by a substance or medical condition
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Rare mental disorder characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring identities or dissociated personality states that recurrently control a person’s behavior
Common in people who have been victim of physical/sexual abuse when very young
Person experiences a disruption to his or her identity, as reflected by at least two separate personality states or experiences of possession
Person repeatedly experiences memory gaps regarding daily events, key personal information, or traumatic events, beyond ordinary forgetting
Significant distress or impairment
The symptoms are not caused by a substance or medical condition
Schizophrenia
Psychotic disorder in which personal, social, and occupational functioning deteriorate as a result of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor abnormalities
Literal translation is “split mind” which refers to a split from reality
delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, very abnormal motor activity (including catatonia), negative symptoms
Delusions
false beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. For example, contend that the government is controlling our every move via radio waves, even with no evidence to support this belief.
Hallucinations
seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or feeling something that isn’t there.
Psychosis Syndrome
Any disorder in which the affected person has lost contact with reality (break with reality)
People usually experience psychosis in episodes (vary in length)
Psychosis can be drug induced or drug assisted (marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, crack & hallucinogens)
Most common psychosis appears in the form of schizophrenia
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Characteristics of schizophrenia that are added to a person’s personality, such as hallucinations, inappropriate emotions, delusions
Schizophrenia Delusions
Bizarre or far fetched belief that are unchanging even after being proven incorrect
Delusions of Reference
Believing that hidden messages are being sent to you via newspaper, TV, radio, or magazines
