PSY2003 SEMESTER 1 - WEEK 2

Question 1

what are copy number variants (a specific genetic factor) and what other diagnosis may they cause

Answer 1

hereditable component
also associated with ASD. may have no symptoms or meet criteria for range of diagnosis

Question 2

where are CNV (copy number varients) found

Answer 2

16p11.2 section of chromosome contain genes importantly associating with brain development
CNV here means deletion or duplication of this section of chromosome
if deleted or duplicated, individual has similar effect. need midpoint (just right)

Question 3

outline neuropathology in sz aside from dopamine

Answer 3

smaller cortex and hippocampus, temporal lobe degeneration, large ventricles, frontal cortex

Question 4

where is severe loss found in early onset sz (from longitudinal MRI, Thompson 2001)

Answer 4

3-5% annually, in parietal, motor, temporal
normal pruning in grey matter frontal cortex but larger loss in sz

Question 5

what is grey matter loss paired with for sz (especially for parietal, frontal)

Answer 5

behavioural symptoms (parietal loss leads to attentional issues, frontal loss decision-making impairment)

Question 6

when is normal age of sz onset

Answer 6

18-25

Question 7

where does COS (childhood onset schizophrenia) start, where does deterioration spread

Answer 7

right parietal sensorimotor cortex signif faster deterioration
visuopatial, associative thinking, then dorsolateral, prefrontal, temporal, sensorimotor, dorsolateral cortex, finishes at frontal eye fields

Question 8

for childhood onset schizophrenia, aside from parietal lobe deterioration, what else occurs

Answer 8

overall deterioration of global functioning
failure of normal maturation in neurological tests
pre/postnatal disturbance in neuronal migration and synaptic pruning

Question 9

in COS what does deterioration in parietal region associated with (symptoms and impairments)

Answer 9

correlate with severity of symptom and mirror neuromotor, auditory, visual search, frontal EF impairment

Question 10

outline role of genetics in COS

Answer 10

mz twin shows environmental factors trigger deficit in pareital, motor cortex are first to develop

Question 11

what is not seen in non-sz-psychosis (NOS) and what can this suggest

Answer 11

no temporal lobe deficit, suggests wave of disease progression into temporal cortex is specific to sz regardless of treatment, gender and IQ

Question 12

what is faster loss in superior temporal gyri/temporal cortex associated with

Answer 12

more severe positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions)

Question 13

what is faster loss in frontal cortex associated with

Answer 13

severe negative symptom= flat affect, poverty of speech
consistent with physiological hypothesis of negative symptoms due to reduced dopaminergic activity in frontal

Question 14

explain prodromal

Answer 14

period between appearance of initial symptoms and full sz development

Question 15

what is activated less in sz in motor tasks

Answer 15

sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor areas

Question 16

what is easier to link to neuropathology than hallucination/delusion

Answer 16

cognitive symptoms (attention, decision-making)

Question 17

name 2 methods of studying cognitive aspect of sz

Answer 17

eye-tracking
Wisconsin card sorting task

Question 18

outline patterns of eye-tracking for sz

Answer 18

control has smooth-pursuit responses but sz jerks about more and more saccadic

Question 19

in sz, what does eye-tracking visual search tasks suggest about neuropathology

Answer 19

frontal cortex fastest loss area of eye fields = attentional dysfunction

Question 20

in eye-tracking of sz, explain what impairments are in exploratory eye movements

Answer 20

stare more, difficulty in top-down control of selective attention, visual search

Question 21

apply wisconsin card sorting task to sz

Answer 21

sz and frontal lobe damage patients show impairment
making perseverance error, difficulty learning the rules

Question 22

apply habituation research (orientating response) to sz

Answer 22

prepulse inhibition paradigm: habituated to stimuli
sz struggle with habituating
loud noise (stimuli) = startle response
if quieter autitory tone before then prepulse has inhibited response to less startle response

Question 23

apply theory of mind to autism, and how autism can relate to sz

Answer 23

thought to be missing in autism
struggle to see things from different POV and other peoples thought processes
comorbidity with sz, but some believe are on opposite continuum end for aspects such as ToM

Question 24

what is ToM

Answer 24

ability to recognise we have different perceptions of world, others have different thought process
eg; know someone else doesn’t know we put ball in box, if they weren’t there to see it

Question 25

apply to ToM to sz

Answer 25

overactive/distorted ToM, cause delusion, paranoia, feel everyones persecuting them, including inanimate objects, lead to hallucination

Question 26

apply low SES to sz

Answer 26

low SES more likely to have sz diagnosis

Question 27

explain social drift of SES to sz

Answer 27

people with sz have difficulty with employment so drift down SES

Question 28

explain sociogenic hypothesis of SES to sz

Answer 28

lower SES cause more stressful life events, financial strain, family dysfunciton, less educational access, worse living condition

Question 29

evaluate why low SES may not be best explanation for sz

Answer 29

parental SES at time of birth is NOT associated with increased risk and higher SES also experiences stressors

Question 30

name 4 types of influence of family on sz

Answer 30

double bind
paradoxical communication
communication deviance
expressed emotion

Question 31

what is double bind impact of family on sz

Answer 31

verbal messages contradict implied message, which invalidates both

Question 32

what is paradoxical communication in family applied to sz

Answer 32

message contradicts itself
can include presence of no choice but illusion of choice
eg; angry “you know I love you”, crying and saying “I’m very happy”

Question 33

name 5 biases of sz

Answer 33

1. cognitive bias
2. attentional bias
3. reasoning bias
4. interpretational bias
5. attributional bias

Question 34

what is cognitive bias in sz

Answer 34

over-report confrontational interactions

Question 35

what is attentional bias of sz

Answer 35

like anxiety, over attends to negative stimuli, and those relevant to delusions

Question 36

what is reasoning bias of sz

Answer 36

jumping to conclusions

Question 37

what is interpretational bias of sz

Answer 37

hearing voices

Question 38

outline Seligmans Attributional model

Answer 38

attributions for negative event, 3 dimension
internal vs external
global vs specific
stable vs unstable
if neg event interp as internal+global+stable = depression
if neg event interp as external+global+stable=delusions

Question 39

what combination of seligman attributions dimensions leads to depression

Answer 39

internal + global + stable

Question 40

what combination of seligman attributions dimensions leads to delusions

Answer 40

external + global + stable

Question 41

name treatments of sz

Answer 41

1. social skills training
2. CBT
3. personal therapy
4. cognitive remediation training
5. family intervention
6. community care
7. pharmacology

Question 42

what is social skills training - treatment for sz

Answer 42

cope with everyday life skill

Question 43

what is CBT - treatment for sz

Answer 43

reattributions therapy
change cog bias regarding delusion/hallucination and help them work out delusion is not true

Question 44

what is family therapy - treatment for sz

Answer 44

psychoeducation, supportive family management, applied family management