Psych Flashcards
What is the key difference between classical and operant conditioning?
- classical involves an involuntary response
- operant involves a voluntary response
What is operant conditioning?
learning which occurs because the given action produces a punishment or reward
What are the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and response in a case of classical conditioning?
- US: ring the bell
- UR: eat
- CS: ring the bell
- CR: salivate
What is reinforcement?
- the act of following a target behavior with either a desired reward or removal of an aversive stimulus
- remember, both positive and negative reinforcement are meant to increase the frequency of the response
What is the difference between positive and a negative reinforcement?
- both are meant to increase the frequency of the response
- postive means providing a reward whereas negative means removing an aversive stimulus
The opposite of reinforcement is what?
punishment
What is negative punishment?
the removal of a desired stimulus used to extinguish an unwanted behavior
What is extinction?
a phenomenon of both classical and operant conditioning in which discontinuation of reinforcement, positive or negative, eventually leads to elimination of the associated behavior
What is transference?
a situation in which the patient projects feelings about a formative or important person onto the physician (e.g. psychiatrist is seen as a parent)
What is countertransference?
a situation in which the doctor projects feelings about a formative or other important person onto the patient (e.g. patient is seen as younger sibling)
What are ego defenses? List several mechanisms.
- they are mental processes, both conscious and unconscious, used to resolve conflict and prevent undesirable feelings
- includes acting out, denial, displacement, dissociation, fixation, idealization, and identification
What is meant by acting out in the context of ego defenses?
expressing unacceptable feelings and thoughts through actions
What is meant by denial in the context of ego defenses?
avoiding the awareness of some painful reality
What is meant by displacement in the context of ego defenses?
- transferring avoided ideas and feelings to a neutral person or object
- different from projection
- example: mother yells at her child because her husband yelled at her
What is meant by dissociation in the context of ego defenses?
- a temporary, drastic change in personality, memory, consciousness, or motor behavior to avoid emotional stress
- dissociative identify disorder would be the extreme of this
What is meant by fixation in the context of ego defenses?
- partially remaining at a more childish level of development
- different than regression
What is meant by idealization in the context of ego defenses?
expressing extremely positive thoughts of self and others while ignoring negative ones
What is meant by identification in the context of ego defenses?
- modeling behavior after another person who is more powerful
- prime example is an abused child later becoming a child abuser
The idea that victims of child abuse often later become child abusers is an example of what ego defense mechanism?
identification (modeling behavior after another person who is more powerful)
What is meant by intellectualization in the context of ego defenses?
- the use of facts and logic to emotionally distance oneself from a stressful situation
- perfect example is a patient who focuses only on rates of survival after receiving a cancer diagnosis
What is meant by isolation of affect in the context of ego defenses?
- separating feelings from ideas and events
- e.g. a murderer describing in graphic detail what he did without emotional response
What is meant by passive aggression in the context of ego defenses?
failing to meet the needs or expectations of others as an indirect show of opposition
What is meant by projection in the context of ego defenses?
- attributing an unacceptable internal impulse to an external source
- e.g. a man who wants to cheat on his wife accuses her of being unfaithful
What is meant by rationalization in the context of ego defenses?
proclaiming logical reasons for actions actually performed for other reasons, most often to avoid self-blame
What is meant by reaction formation in the context of ego defenses?
- replacing a warded-off idea or feeling by an unconsciously derived emphasis on it’s opposite
- i.e. a patient with libidinous thoughts entering the monastery
What is meant by regression in the context of ego defenses?
involuntarily turning back the maturational clock and going back to earlier modes of dealing with the world
What is meant by repression in the context of ego defenses?
- involuntarily withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness
- differs from suppression which is more conscious
What is meant by splitting in the context of ego defenses? In which population is it commonly seen?
- believing that people are either all good or all bad at different times due to intolerance of ambiguity
- commonly seen in those with borderline personality disorder
- e.g. a patient says that all the nurses are cold and insensitive but the doctors are warm and friendly
How do repression and suppression differ in the context of ego defenses??
- repression is an unconscious act whereas suppression is more conscious
- furthermore, repression is an immature defense whereas suppression is a mature one
Ego defenses can be divided into what two categories?
immature and mature
Which ego defenses are considered “mature”?
- sublimation
- altruism
- suppression
- humor
What is meant by sublimation in the context of ego defenses?
- a mature defense in which an unacceptable wish is replaced by another course of action that is similar but does not conflict with one’s value system
- e.g. teenager’s aggression toward his father is redirected to perform well in sports
- in contrast to the immature response of reaction formation
What is meant by altruism in the context of ego defenses?
- a mature defense in which negative feelings are alleviated via unsolicited generosity
- e.g. a mafia boss makes a large donation to charity
What is meant by suppression in the context of ego defenses?
- a mature defense that involves intentionally withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness
- differs from repression in that it is conscious and meant to be temporary
What is meant by humor in the context of ego defenses?
a mature defense characterized by appreciating the amusing nature of an anxiety-provoking or adverse situation
What is meant by the phrase “infant deprivation effects”? What specific effects are seen?
- changes in infants that arise out of long-term deprivation of affection
- failure to thrive, poor language/social skills, lack of basic trust, and reactive attachment disorder (withdraws or is unresponsive to comfort)
- these can be remembered by the 4 W’s: weak, wordless, wanting (socially), and wary
- the changes are typically irreversible if deprivation lasts more than 6 months and severe deprivation can even result in infant death
What percentage of deaths in children less than one year old can be attributed to physical abuse?
40%
Who is most often the perpetrator in instances of physical child abuse? Who is most often the perpetrator of sexual child abuse?
- the biological mother is most often the physical abuser
- a male known to the victim is most often the sexual abuser
At what age does the incidence of child sexual abuse peak?
between the ages of 9-12
What kind of fraction is pathognomonic for child abuse?
a spiral fracture
Polymicrobial septicemia in children is almost always attributable to what?
Munchausen’s by proxy
What is the most common form of child maltreatment?
neglect
Vulnerable Child Syndrome
- an instance in which the parents perceive their child as especially susceptible to illness or injury
- usually follows a serious illness or life-threatening event
- can result in missed school days or overuse of medical services
ADHD
- an early-onset disorder of limited attention span and poor impulse control that begins before age 12
- characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and/or inattention in multiple settings
- normal intelligence but often struggle at school
- persists into adulthood in nearly half of all cases
- treat with stimulants like methylphenidate with or without CBT
What is the preferred treatment for ADHD?
methylphenidate
Autism Spectrum Disorder
- a disorder of poor social interaction, social communication deficits, restricted interests, and repetitive or ritualized behaviors
- may be accompanied by intellectually disability and only rarely accompanied by unusual abilities (savants)
- associated with larger head and brain size
- must present in early childhood
- more common in boys
Rett Syndrome
- an X-linked dominant disorder seen almost exclusively in girls because affected males die in utero or shortly after birth
- presents around age 1-4 with regression, including loss of development, loss of verbal abilities, intellectual disability, ataxia, and stereotyped hand-wringing
Conduct Disorder
- repetitive and pervasive behavior violating the basic rights of others or social norms
- many patients often meet criteria for antisocial personality disorder after reaching the age of 18
- treatment is CBT
Those with what childhood disorder often progress to antisocial personality disorder in adulthood?
conduct disorder
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- an enduring pattern of hostile, defiant behavior toward authority figures in the absence of serious violations of social norms
- treatment is CBT
Separation Anxiety Disoder
- an overwhelming fear of separation from home or loss of attachment figure
- commonly presents between 7-9 with factitious physical complaints to avoid going to or staying at school
- treatment involves CBT, play therapy, and family therapy
Tourette Syndrome
- a disorder of sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor and vocal tics that persist longer than one year with an onset before age 18
- Coprolalia is only seen in 20% of cases
- associated with OCD and ADHD
- treatment is psychoeducation and behavioral therapy
- for intractable and distressing tics, high-potency antipsychotics, tetrabenazine, guanfacine, and clonidine can be used
What is coprolalia?
a form of Tourette syndrome characterized by involuntary obscene speech
Schizophrenia is associated with what NT changes?
an increase in dopamine
Parkinson disease is associated with what NT changes?
a decrease in dopamine and increase in ACh
Huntington disease is associated with what NT changes?
a decrease in GABA and ACh and an increase in DA
Depression is associated with what NT changes?
a decrease in NE, serotonin, and dopamine
Anxiety disorders are associated with what NT changes?
an increase in NE and a decrease in both GABA and serotonin
Alzheimer’s disease is associated with what NT changes?
an increase in glutamate and a decrease in ACh
In what order is orientation most often lost?
- first lost is orientation to time
- second is to place
- last is to person
What is retrograde amnesia?
the inability to remember things that occurred before a CNS insult
What is anterograde amnesia?
the inability to form new memories
Korsakoff Syndrome
- anterograde amnesia caused by a vitamin B1 deficiency and associated with destruction of the mammillary bodies
- patients often compensate with confabulation
- most often seen in alcoholics as a late neuropsychologist manifestation of Wernicke encephalopathy
What are dissociative amnesia and dissociative fugue?
- the inability to recall important personal information, most often in a period following severe trauma or stress
- may be accompanied by a dissociative fugue, which is abrupt travel or wandering in the setting of dissociative amnesia
Dissociative Identify Disorder
- also known as multiple personality disorder
- associated with a history of sexual abuse, PTSD, depression, substance abuse, borderline personality disorder, and somatoform conditions
- more common in women
What is depersonalization disorder? How does it differ from derealization disorder?
- persistent feelings of detachment or estrangement from one’s own body, thoughts, perceptions, and actions
- by contrast, derealization is a persistent feeling of detachment from one’s environment
What are the criteria for delirium?
- acute and fluctuating course
- inattention
- disorder thinking or altered level of consciousness
What kind of EEG is common in those suffering from delirium?
a diffuse, slowing EEG
How is delirium treated?
- focus on treating the underlying condition
- use haloperidol as needed and benzodiazepines for alcohol withdrawal
How does dementia differ from delirium?
- dementia has a more chronic, gradual, progressive course than delirium
- those with dementia also suffer greater functional deficits (ADLs and IADLs)
- EEG can be helpful in distinguishing the two because the EEG for a demented patient is usually normal but diffuse slowing EEGs are common for delirious patients
What are five reversible causes of dementia?
- hypothyroidism
- depression
- vitamin B12 deficiency
- normal pressure hydrocephalus
- neurosyphilis
When assessing patients for dementia, be sure to screen them for what else?
pseudodementia, including depression, hypothyroidism, and B12 deficiency
How is psychosis defined?
as a distorted perception of reality characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and/or disorganized thinking
What are delusions?
unique, false beliefs that persist despite the facts
What is a referential delusion?
the belief that a neutral event has a special or personal meaning
What is an erotomanic delusion?
one in which the person believes another is in love with him or her
What is a somatic delusion?
the belief that one’s bodily functioning, sensation, or appearance is grossly abnormal
What are hallucinations? How does this differ from an illusion?
- hallucinations are perceptions in the absence of any
external stimuli - whereas illusions are misperceptions of real external stimuli
Under what circumstances are visual and auditory hallucinations most common?
- visual are more commonly a feature of a medical illness
- auditory are more commonly a feature of a psychiatric illness
Under what circumstances are olfactory hallucinations most common?
as an aura preceding temporal lobe epilepsy or in those with brain tumors
Under what circumstances are tactile hallucinations most common?
in the settings of alcohol withdrawal and stimulant use (e.g. delusional parasitosis aka “cocaine crawlies”)
What is a hypnagogic hallucination? What are they most often a feature of?
one that occurs while going to sleep, sometimes seen in cases of narcolepsy
What is a hypnopompic hallucination? What are they most often a feature of?
one that occurs while waking from sleep, sometimes seen in cases of narcolepsy
Schizophrenia
- diagnosis requires two of the following including one of the first three for more than 6 months: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms
- associated with increased dopaminergic activity, decreased dendritic branching, and ventriculomegaly
- lifetime prevalence is 1.5% with no gender or racial differences but presents earlier in men than women (early 20s v. late 20s/early 30s)
- treat with atypical antipsychotics like risperidone
- associated with frequent cannabis use in teens and increases risk for suicide
What physical, neurologic changes are seen in those with schizophrenia?
- increased dopaminergic activity
- decreased dendritic branching
- ventriculomegaly
What are the criteria for diagnosing schizophrenia?
two or more of the following, including one of the first three, for a period lasting longer than six months
- delusions
- hallucinations
- disorganized thought
- disorganized or catatonic behavior
- negative symptoms
What is a brief psychotic disorder?
- symptoms of schizophrenia lasting less than one month
- two of the following including one of the first three for less than 1 month: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms
- usually stress-related
What is the relationship between schizoaffective disorder, brief psychotic disorder, schizophreniform disorder, and schizophrenia?
- schizoaffective is more than 2 weeks of hallucinations or delusions without a major mood episode plus periods with a major mood episode
- brief psychotic disorder is schizophrenia for less than one month
- schizophreniform disorder is schizophrenia for 1-6 months
- schizophrenia is symptoms lasting more than 6 months
What is schizoaffective disorder?
- more than 2 weeks of hallucinations or delusions without a major mood episode
- plus periods of schizophrenic symptoms with concurrent major mood episodes
What is delusional disorder?
a fixed, persistent, false belief system lasting more than one month without otherwise impaired functioning
What is folie a deux?
a delusion shared by individuals in a close relationship
What is mood disorder?
- an abnormal range of moods or internal emotional states and loss of control over them
- severity of moods causes distress and impaired social and occupational functioning
- includes major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder, and cyclothymic disorder
- may have superimposed psychotic features
What is a manic episode? What are the diagnostic requirements?
- a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased activity or energy lasting at least one week
- diagnosis requires hospitalization or at least three of the following: distractibility, irresponsibility, grandiosity, flight of ideas, decreased need for sleep, talkativeness or pressured speech, and psychomotor agitation or an increase in goal-directives activity
How is a hypomanic episode defined?
- like a manic episode except the disturbance is not severe enough to caused marked impairment in daily living or necessitate hospitalization
- lasts at least four consecutive days
What is another name for bipolar disorder?
manic depression
How does bipolar I differ from bipolar II?
- I is the presence of at least one manic episode with or without a hypomanic or depressive episode
- II is the experience of a hypomanic episode and a depressive episode without a manic episode
Bipolar Disorder
- defined by the presence of a manic or hypomanic episode and can involve depressive episodes
- most often, the patient’s mood and functioning return to normal between episodes
- patients have a high risk for suicide, but anti-depressants can precipitate mania and should not be used
- treat with mood stabilizers (lithium, valproic acid, carbamazepine) and atypical antipsychotics
Which class of medications should not be used in those with bipolar disorder? Why?
anti-depressants because of their ability to precipitate a manic episode
What is the preferred treatment for bipolar disorder?
- mood stabilizers like lithium, valproic acid, carbamazepine
- atypical antipsychotics
What is cyclothymic disorder?
a milder form of bipolar disorder lasting at least two years over the course of which the patient experiences fluctuations between mild depressive and hypomanic symptoms (i.e. longer, milder cycling course)
What are the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder?
5 or more of the following for two or more weeks with reported depression or anhedonia being one:
- depressed mood
- sleep disturbance
- loss of interest
- guilt or feelings of worthlessness
- fatigue
- difficulty concentrating
- appetite or weight changes
- psychomotor retardation or agitation
- suicidal ideations
Major Depressive Disorder
- diagnosis requires 5 or more symptoms lasting more than two weeks including either depression or anhedonia
- often have changes in their sleep patterns including: less slow-wave sleep, less REM latency, increased REM early in sleep cycle, increased total REM, repeated awakenings, and early-morning wakening
- first line therapy is SSRIs and CBT
- second line therapy is SNRIs, mirtazapine, and bupropion
- ECT can be used in select patients, often with good results
What changes in sleep are often seen in those with depression?
- less slow wave sleep
- less REM latency, more REM early in the night, and more total REM
- repeated nighttime awakenings and terminal insomnia (early wakening)