Psychiatric Disorders

Question 1

what are psychiatric disorders?

Answer 1

distrubance in thought, mood and/or behavior that impairs function or causes distress
diagnosed by behavioral symptoms vs lab test- Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
biological underpinnings

Question 2

prevalence

Answer 2

more than 1/3 of US population reported at some point symptoms matching psychiatric disorders
sex differences
age on onset
may be due to differences in diagnosis rates vs. differences in risk, societal expectations, etc..

Question 3

negative affective disorders

Answer 3

negative affect
genetic risk
chronic, lower grade stressors

Question 4

negative affect

Answer 4

experiences world in negative terms
higher levels of distress, anxiety, dissatisfaction
low subjective sense of well-being

Question 5

genetic risk

Answer 5

many genes contribute to susceptibility

Question 6

chronic, lower grade stressors

Answer 6

increase risk for anxiety disorders or depression

Question 7

Schizophrenia literally translates to:
A. To split the personality
B. To split the mind

Answer 7

B. to split the mind

Question 8

schizo

Answer 8

to split

Question 9

phren

Answer 9

mind, not personality
thought, mood, affect, and behavior are splintered

Question 10

spectrum of disorders

Answer 10

psychosis

Question 11

psychosis

Answer 11

disconnection from reality

Question 12

prevalence and age of onset of schizophrenia

Answer 12

3% of US population
age of onset- around 20 years old

Question 13

symptoms

Answer 13

positive symptoms
negative symptoms
cognitive symptoms

Question 14

positive symptoms

Answer 14

neurotypical people wouldn’t experience
psychosis
added to the behavior

Question 15

negative symptoms

Answer 15

subtractive- taking away from what a neurotypical person would have

Question 16

cognitive symptoms

Answer 16

depend on cortex’s ability to process information- complex information, memory, poor decisions, impulse control, poor attention span

Question 17

Delusions are an example of a ___ symptom in a schizophrenic
patient.
A. Negative
B. Positive
C. Cognitive

Answer 17

B. positive

Question 18

what may promote psychosis

Answer 18

psychotropic substances
inflammation, injury, illness
stress/trauma susceptibility
genetic susceptibility

Question 19

psychotropic substances

Answer 19

stimulant drugs of abuse, high potency cannabis & psychedelics (ex. PCP or angel dust)
can induce a psychosis event

Question 20

inflammation, injury, illness

Answer 20

meningitis & encephalitis
tumors, strokes, Parkinson’s disease & Alzheimer’s disease

Question 21

genetic susceptibility

Answer 21

twin studies- monozygotic vs. dizygotic
discordant monozygotic twins- birth weight, early psychological distress, motor coordination

Question 22

hundreds of genes that may contribute to genetic susceptibility

Answer 22

DISCI (disrupted in SCZ)= brain synapse development

Question 23

stress and how it may contribute to susceptibility

Answer 23

SCZ appears in transition from child to adult- physical, emotional, lifestyle changes
prenatal stress- flu (7x risk), incompatible blood type, gestational diabetes
city living- move from one to other

Question 24

During what stage of life is a stress a risk factor for developing
schizophrenia?
A. Prenatal
B. Infancy
C. Adulthood
D. All of the above

Answer 24

D. all of the above

Question 25

symptoms of schizophrenia

Answer 25

positive
negative
cognitive

Question 26

positive symptoms

Answer 26

symptoms that are present but should not be
hallucinations

Question 27

negative symptoms

Answer 27

absent but should be present
reduced facial expression

Question 28

cognitive symptoms

Answer 28

difficulties processing and decision-making

Question 29

neurobiology behind schizophrenia

Answer 29

1. ventricle volume
2. limbic system
3. cortex

Question 30

ventricle volume

Answer 30

no relationship to illness length or hospitalization period
predicts responsiveness to antipsychotic drug- works less well on people with larger ventricles
larger ventricles in people with schizophrenia- DISC1 gene

Question 31

DISC1 gene and its effect on schizophrenia

Answer 31

mutation in DISC1 gene causes an enlargement of ventricles-> higher risk of developing schizophrenia-> lower susceptibility to antipsychotic drug

Question 32

limbic system

Answer 32

hippocampus and amygdala smaller in SCZ-discordant twin
disorganization of hippocampal pyramidal cells

Question 33

cortex

Answer 33

thinning of grey matter
hypofrontality

Question 34

hypofrontality

Answer 34

less cortical activation in discordant twin at rest and during task

Question 35

Which brain structure is altered in the brain of a schizophrenic
patient?
A. Ventricle
B. Hippocampus
C. Cortex
D. All of the above

Answer 35

D. all of the above

Question 36

first antipsychotic drug reveals role of dopamine

Answer 36

chlorpromazine

Question 37

chlorpromazine

Answer 37

anesthetic
lessened psychosis symptoms
dramatically impaired/slowed voluntary movement- D2 antagonist effects in extrapyramidal motor system, L-DOPA can evoke/worsen psychosis in Parkinson’s patients
D2 antagonism predicts clinical efficacy

Question 38

direct measurements of dopamine release

Answer 38

dopamine increased in schizophrenics
change in positive symptoms increased in schizophrenics with increased dopamine release

Question 39

dopamine hypothesis

Answer 39

dopamine overactivity in limbic system causes positive symptoms- dopamine release, dopamine receptors
dopamine function is too low in the frontal cortex- causes the limbic overactivity