Organic Conditions Flashcards
What is the difference between functional psychiatric disorders and organic mental disorders?
Functional psychiatric disorders - characterised by disturbance of the functioning of the brain
Organic mental disorders - characterised by demonstrable organic brain damage or mental disorder arising in the context of demonstrable physical disease
What are the problems with the distinction between functional psychiatric disorders and organic mental disorders?
Many, if not all, functional psychiatric disorders have organic basis e.g. bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia
Many, if not all, mental disorders present with a mixture of mental and physical features e.g. depression
Physical disorders also have effect on psychological functioning
What are organic mental disorders?
Group of disorders which have a recognised organic explanation
Acquired - differentiation from learning disability
Primary brain disorder/impairment vs secondary brain disorder e.g. due to substance misuse
What cognitive impairments are seen in organic mental disorders?
Disorientation Impaired attention/concentration Memory - anterograde +/- retrograde amnesia Language Judgement Insight
What behavioural abnormalities are seen in organic mental disorders?
Agitation, aggression
Slowing - psychomotor retardation
Abnormal social conduct
What mood changes are seen in organic mental disorders?
Low mood
Anxiety
Mania
What psychotic features are seen in organic mental disorders?
Hallucinations, commonly visual
Delusions, often persecutory
What are the acute/subacute organic mental disorders?
Delirium (acute organic confusional state)
Organic mood disorder
Organic psychotic disorder
What are the chronic organic mental disorders?
Dementia
Amnesic syndrome
Organic personality change
What is delirium?
Transient organic mental syndrome of acute or subacute onset which is characterised by global cognitive impairment
What are the presenting features of delirium?
Impaired attention/concentration
Anterograde memory impairment
Disorientation in time, place or person
Fluctuating levels of arousal (often nocturnal exacerbations)
Disordered sleep/wake cycle
Increased/decreased psychomotor activity
Disorganised thinking indicated by rambling, irrelevant or incoherent speech
Perceptual distortions leading to misidentification, illusions and hallucinations
Changes in mood e.g. anxiety, depression and lability
What are the causes of delirium?
Infections Medications Alcohol/drug withdrawal Drug abuse Metabolic Vitamin deficiency Endocrinopathies Neurological causes Toxins/industrial exposures SLE Cerebral vasculitis Paraneoplastic syndromes
What is dementia?
A syndrome characterised by global cognitive impairment which is chronic in nature
The underlying brain pathology is variable and usually, but not always, aggressive
What are the types of dementia?
Alzheimer's disease Vascular Lewy body Fronto-temporal Dementia due to other brain disorders; - Huntington's chorea - Head injury - Parkinson's disease
What are the features of amnesic syndrome?
Preserved global intellectual abilities Anterograde amnesia Retrograde amnesia (temporal gradient) Preserved registration/working memory Preserved procedural memory
