Problem 8 Flashcards
Psychosis
Inability to tell the difference between what is real + what is not
Schizophrenia
Refers to a psychotic disorder that involves a breakdown in the relation between
a) thought
b) emotion
c) behaviour
–> that leads to faulty perception + inappropriate actions and feelings and a withdrawal from reality + personal relationships
Prevalence of Schizophrenia ?
- 0.5-2% general pop. prevalence
- Develops in late adolescence/ early adulthood
- Slight ethnic differences may occur due to differences in socioeconomic status
There are 3 types of Schizophrenic symptoms.
Name them.
- Positive symptoms
- -> adding qualities
a) Delusions
b) Hallucinations
c) Disorganized thought or speech
d) Catatonic behavior
- Negative symptoms
- -> loosing qualities
a) affective flattening
b) alogia
c) avolition
- Cognitive deficits
a) attention
b) WM
c) abstract thinking
Delusion
Positive symptom
Refer to ideas that an individual believes are true but are highly unlikely
–> often impossible
Winning the lottery might be a highly unlikely event as well.
Why is this nonetheless a self deception and not a delusion ?
Where are the crucial differences between the two ?
- Self deceptions are possible, delusions are not
2. People holding self deceptions know their beliefs may be wrong, delusional people will insist on their views
Persecutory delusion (Positive symptom)
Believing that you are being watched by people you know
ex.: FBI, Professor at school
Delusion of reference
Positive symptom
Believing that random events or comments by others are directed at you when they are not
ex.: comments of a politician at directed at none other than you
Grandiose delusions (Positive symptom)
Believing that one is a special being that possesses special powers
ex.: most intelligent on earth
Delusion of thought insertion
Positive symptom
Believing that ones thoughts are being controlled by outside forces
Hallucinations
Positive symptom
Refer to unreal perceptual experiences
–> may be consistency with delusions
Auditory hallucination
Postitive symtom
Consist of voices speaking to the individual through his thoughts or somewhere outside
–> most common schizophrenic hallucination
Visual hallucination
Positive symptom
Consists of seeing things that aren’t there
ex.: seeing a ghost (that may talk to the individual)
–> 2nd most common, often accompanied by auditory H.
Tactile hallucination
Positive symptom
Involves the perception that something is happening outide the persons body
ex.: bugs are crawling up the back
Are there any cultural differences when it comes to hallucinations and delusions ?
Yes,
The specific content of the hallucinations or delusions vary from culture to culture
BUT: form of these symptoms remain similar, thus it can be diagnosed reliably across cultures
Disorganized thought/Speech
Formal thought disorder
Refers to the disorganized thinking, by slipping from one topic to the next, where the second one is totally unrelated
–> loosening of associations/derailment, “Word salad”
Men with schizophrenia tend to show more severe deficits in language than women.
Why ?
Language is controlled more bilaterally in women
–> as it is more localized in men their deficits are larger
Catatonic disorganized behavior
Positive symptom
Unpredictable + apparently untriggered agitation
- Catatonia
- -> unresponsiveness to environment - Negativism
- -> lack of response to instructions - Mutism
- -> complete lack of verbal/motor responses - Catatonic excitement
- -> purposeless & excessive motor activity for no apparent reason
Is disorganized behavior that occurs in response to delusions + hallucinations and reflects unresponsiveness to the world
–> becoming wildly agitated for no reason