NT's SZ Flashcards
What are the 4 neurotransmitters mentioned in this cause of SZ?
-Dopamine
-Glutamate
-Serotonin
-GABA
Dopamine function and behaviours (5)
-pleasure, satisfaction and motivation
-reward pathway
-Factor in addiction
-High levels improve focus
-once past point can turn into manic behaviour
Glutamate (2)
-Memory, cognition, learning and processing info
-Low levels = anxiety
GABA(5)
-Calming effect
-controls anxiety stress and fear
-lessens ability for nerve cells to send or receive messages
-regulates other NT’s
-Calms firing neurons in CNS
Serotonin(2)
-Body functions: mood, sleep, digestion,
-Happiness and well-being
What are 8 AO1 points to use in an essay?
-Dopamine hypothesis
-D1 and D2 receptors
-Mesolimbic and meso-cortical pathway
-serotonin imbalance
-Gaba
-Glutamate
-Basal ganglia and c.cortex
-example eg drugs/parkinsons
Dopamine hypothesis
-Excess dopamine (imbalance)
-Messages from neuron fire too often
-High DA
-Positive sympt
-Hallucinations and delusions
D1 and D2 receptors
-D2 receptors meso-limbic pathway. Too many or too sensitive on post-synaptic. More D absorbed. Manic beh. Attention and perception issues.
-Not enough D1 receptors in the meso-cortical pathway. Lack activation. Can’t communicate to PFC through cortical, slows down. neg symtp like disordered thnking
Meso-limbic and meso-cortical pathway
-Meso-limbic: too much DA. Pos symtp like hallucinations. Reward pathway so if pleasure then activated. D released
-Meso-cortical: low DA. negative and cognitive symptoms (disordered speech) links to PFC, slows everything down
Serotonin
-Imbalance.
-Regulates body temp, sleep, mood and appetite.
-More recent anti-psychotics target serotonin and also are better
-Regulates D in meso-limbic
-Neg symptoms like depression, withdrawal
Gaba
-No regulation of other NT’s
-More severe sympt
-calms CNS
-More anxiety
Glutamate (4)
-Deficiencies
-Cog and neg sympt
-learning and memory
-leads to insomnia, problems concentrating, exhaustion, poverty of speech
Basal ganglia and C.cortex (2)
-low glut in BG. leads to pos symtpoms
-low glut in c.cortex leads to negative
Example
Parkinsons
-Low DA leads to parkinsons. high DA leads to SZ. Those with parkinsons taking drugs to inc dopamine, showed symptoms of SZ
Evidence to use for NT’s (3+ 3-)
+Lindstroem et al
+Randrup and Munkvan
+Falkai
-Carlsson
-Angrist
-Noll
Lindstroem et al (6)
-Supports
-Radioactively labelled L-DOPA (produces dopamine0
-Gave to 10 SZ and 10 non SZ.
-PET scans to trace L-DOPA.
-Taken up quicker in meso-limbic pathway of SZ’s
-More D2 receptors and produce more D
How good is the research for Lindstroem?
-PET scans.
-correlations no c&e.
-Only look at post diagnosis when T starts
-Carlsson said stress and anxiety could impact, change NT and distort
-Lowers cred
BUT
-scientific and obj data. Can’t be argued. Improves validity. Live activity, can see uptake of D
Randrup and Munkvan
-Amphetamines are agonists which worsen SZ symtp. Similar to paranoid SZ
-They release dopamine
-Gave rats amphetamine and they developed SZ like symptoms.
How good is the research for randrup and munkvan?
-Animal studies: can’t tell rat is hallucinating. what seems to be psychotic in rats may not be in humans.
-But can generalise as bio similarities in brain and NT’s function. scientific cred, cause and effect.
Evidence to contrast Randrup and Munkvan
Angrist: treated with single shot of amphetamines showed reduction in neg symtpoms like withdrawal. supports glutamate as amphetamines inc glutamate.
Falkai
-Post mortem. found SZ patients more D2 receptors than usual in left amygdala & mesolimbic pathway. Supports that DA production abnormal for SZ
How good is the research for Falkai?
-Retrospective as post mortem
-Don’t know what behaviour or symptoms were like
Carlsson
-Supports dopamine but in review suggests more than just excess DA.
-Deficiency of glutamate
-Stress and anxiety could impact and change NT levels
How good is the research for Carlsson?
-meta analysis. researcher bias as can choose studies to use which support idea. Used many of his own studies so reduces credibility.
