Psychological Disorders Flashcards
What is the biomedical approach?
assumes that disorders have biomedical roots and should be treated as such; does not take into account lifestyle or socioeconomic status
What is the biopsychosocial approach?
assumes that there are biological, psychological and social components
What is direct therapy?
treatment that acts directly on the individual, such as medication or periodic meetings with a psychologist
What is indirect therapy?
aims to increase social support by educating and empowering family and friends of the affected individuals
What classifies a psychotic disorder?
delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought, disorganized behavior, catatonia and negative symptoms
What are the requirements to have schizophrenia?
He/she must show continuous signs of the disturbance for at least six months, and this period must include one month of active symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech)
What are positive symptoms?
behaviors, thoughts or feelings added to normal behavior; hallucinations or delusions, etc
What are negative symptoms?
those that involved the absence of normal or desire behavior, such as disturbance of affect and avolition
What are delusions?
false beliefs discordant with reality and not shared by others in the individual’s culture that are maintained in spite of strong evidence to the contrary
What are delusions of reference?
involve the belief that common elements in the environment are directed towards the individual; TV characters are talking to person
What are delusions of grandeur?
involve the belief that the person is remarkable in some significant way
What are delusions of persecution?
involve the belief that the person is being deliberately interfered with, discriminated against, plotted against or threatened
What is thought broadcasting?
the belief that one’s thoughts are broadcast directly from one’s head to the external world
What is thought insertion?
the belief that thoughts are being placed in one’s head
What are hallucinations?
perceptions that are not due to external stimuli but have a compelling sense of reality
What is disorganized thought?
loosening of associations; exhibited as speech in which ideas shift from one subject to another in such a way that a listener would be unable to follow the train of thought
What is disorganized behavior?
refers to the inability to carry out activities of daily living, such as paying bills, maintaining hygiene, and keeping appointments
What is catatonia?
certain motor behaviors; either extreme stillness or bizarre movements
What is echolalia?
repeating another’s words
What is echopraxia?
imitating another’s actions
What is blunting?
severe reduction in the intensity of affect expression
What is flat affect (emotional flattening)?
in which there are virtually no signs of emotional expression
What is inappropriate affect?
the affect is clearly discordant with the content of the individual’s speech
What is affect?
the experience and display of emotion
What is avolition?
marked by decreased engagement in purposeful, goal-directed actions
What is downward drift hypothesis?
having schizophrenia causes decline in socioeconomic status, leads to worse symptoms, which ends spiraling into poverty
What is the prodromal phase?
exemplified by clear evidence of deterioration, social withdrawal, role functioning impairment, peculiar behavior, inappropriate affect, and unusual experiences.
What is major depressive disorder?
characterized by at least one major depressive episode
What is a depressive episode?
a period of at least two weeks with at least five of the following symptoms: prominent and relatively persistent depressed mood, loss of interest in all or almost all formally enjoyable activities, appetite disturbances, substantial weight changes, sleep disturbances, decreased energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, difficulty concentration/thinking, slowed down or thoughts of death
SIG E. CAPS
What is persistent depressive disorder?
suffer from dysthymia, a depressed mood that isn’t severe enough to meet the criteria of major depressive episode, most of the time for two years
What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?
major depressive disorder with seasonal onset
What are bipolar disorders?
a major type of mood disorder characterized by both depression and mania
What are manic episodes?
characterized by abnormal and persistently elevated mood lasting at least one week with at least three of the following: increased distractibility, decreased nee for sleep, inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, racing thoughts, increased goal-directed activity or agitation, pressured speech or talkativeness, and involvement in high-risk behavior
What is Bipolar I disorder?
manic episodes with or without major depressive episodes
What is bipolar II disorder?
hypomania with at least one major depressive episode
What is cyclothymic disorder?
consists of a combination of hypomanic episodes and periods of dysthymia that are not severe enough to qualify as major depressive episodes
What is the monoamine/catecholamine theory of depression?
theory holds that too much norepinephrine and serotonin in the synapse leads to mania, while too little leads to depression
What is generalized anxiety disorder?
defined as a disproportionate and persistent worry about many different things for at least six months
What is a phobia?
an irrational fear of something that results in a compelling desire to avoid it
What is social anxiety disorder?
characterized by anxiety that is due to social situations
What is agoraphobia?
an anxiety disorder characterized by a fear of being in places or situations where it might be heard for an individual to escape
What is panic attack?
symptoms include fear and apprehension, trembling, sweating, hyperventilation and a sense of unreality
What is OCD?
characterized by obsessions (persistent, intrusive thoughts and impulses), which produce tension, and compulsions (repetitive tasks) that relieve tension but cause significant impairment in a person’s life
What is body dysmorphic disorder?
a person has an unrealistic negative evaluation of his or her personal appearance and attractiveness, usually directed towards a certain body part
What is PTSD?
occurs after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event and consists of intrusion symptoms, avoidance symptoms, negative cognitive symptoms, and arousal symptoms
What are intrusion symptoms?
include recurrent reliving of the event, flashbacks, nightmares and prolonged distress
What are avoidance symptoms?
include deliberate attempts to avoid the memories, people, places, activities, and objects associated with the trauma
What are negative cognitive symptoms?
an inability to recall key features of the event, negative mood or emotions, feeling distanced from others, and a persistent negative view of the world
What are arousal symptoms?
an increased startle response, irritability, anxiety, self-destructive or reckless behavior, and sleep disturbances
What are dissociative disorders?
the person avoids stress by escaping from their identity
What is dissociative amnesia?
characterized by the inability to recall past experiences; not due to neurological reasons
What is dissociative fugue?
a sudden, unexpected move or purposeless wandering away from one’s home or location of usual daily activities
What is dissociative identity disorder?
there are two or more personalities that recurrently take control of a person’s behavior
What is depersonalization/derealization disorder?
individuals feel detached from their own mind and body (depersonalization) or from their surroundings (derealization)
What is somatic symptom disorder?
have at least one somatic symptom, which may or may not be linked with an underlying medical conditions, and that is accompanied by disproportionate concerns about its seriousness, devotion of an excessive amount of time and energy to it, or elevated levels of anxiety
What is illness anxiety disorder?
characterized by being consumed with thoughts about having or developing a serious medical condition; “hypochondriacs”
What is conversion disorder?
characterized by unexplained symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory functions after a traumatic event with no biological explanation
What is a personality disorder?
a pattern of behavior that is inflexible and maladaptive, causing distress or impaired functioning in at least two of the following: cognition, emotions, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control. They are ego-dystonic
What is ego-dystonic?
the individual sees the illness as something thrust upon her that is intrusive and bothersome
What is Cluster A of personality disorder?
paranoid, schizotypal and schizoid
What is Cluster B of personality disorder?
antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissitic
What is Cluster C of personality disorder?
avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive
What are paranoid personality disorder?
marked by pervasive distrust of other and suspicion regarding their motives
What are schizotypal personality disorder?
refers to a pattern of odd or eccentric thinking, ideas of reference or magical thinking
What is ideas of reference?
similar to delusions of reference, but not as extreme in intensity
What is magical thinking?
superstitiousness or belief in clairvoyance
What is schizoid personality disorder?
a pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression; show little desire for social interactions, few friends and more social skills
What is antisocial personality disorder?
pattern of disregard for and violations of the rights of others, more common in males, illegal acts, deceitfulness, aggressiveness, or lack of remorse for said actions
What is borderline personality disorder?
pervasive inability in interpersonal behavior, mood, and self-image, more common in females, fear of abandonment, splitting as a defense mechanism, suicide and self-mutilation are common
What is histrionic personality disorder?
characterized by constant attention-seeking behavior
What is narcissistic personality disorder?
has a grandiose sense of self-importance or uniqueness, preoccupation with fantasies of success, a need for constant admiration and attention, and characteristic disturbances in interpersonal relationships such as feeling of entitlement
What is avoidant personality disorder?
the affected individual has extreme shyness and fear of rejection; see themselves as socially inept and is isolated despite a desire for social interaction
What is dependent personality disorder?
characterized by a continuous need for reassurance; tend to be dependent on one specific person
What is obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
the individual is perfectionistic and inflexible, tending to like rules and order; inability to discard worn out times, lack of desire to change, excessive stubbornness, lack of a sense of humor and maintenance of careful routines
What are four biological markers associated with depression?
- abnormally high glucose metabolism in the amygdala
- hippocampal atrophy after a long duration of illness
- abnormally high levels of glucocorticoids
- decreased norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine
What are three biological markers associated with biopolar list?
- increased norepinephrine and serotonin
- higher risk if parent has bipolar disorder
- higher risk for person with multiple sclerosis
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
a type of dementia characterized by gradual memory loss, disorientation to time and place, problems with abstract thought, and a tendency to misplace things; later stages include changes in mood or behavior, personality, difficulty with procedural memory, poor judgement or loss of initiative
What are nine biological markers for Alzheimer’s disease?
- diffuse atrophy of the brain on CT or MRI
- flattened sulci in the cerebral cortex
- enlarged cerebral ventricles
- deficient blood flow in parietal lobes, which is correlated with cognitive decline
- reduction in levels of acetylcholine
- reduction in choline acetyltransferase, the enzyme that produces acetylcholine
- reduced metabolism in temporal and parietal lobes
- senile plaques of beta-amyloid
- neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein
What are three chromosome mutations associated with Alzheimer’s disease?
- mutations of presenilin genes on chromosomes 1 and 14
- mutation on apolipoprotein E gene on chromosome 19
- beta-amyloid precursor protein gene on chromosome 21
What is Parkinson’s disease?
chracterized by bradykinesia, resting tremor, pill-rolling tremor, masklike facies, cogwheel rigidity, and shuffling gait
What is bradykinesia?
slowness in movement
What is resting tremor?
a tremor that appears when muscles are not being used
What is pill-rolling tremor?
flexing and extending the fingers while moving the thumb back and forth, as if rolling something between the fingers
What are masklike facies?
a facial expression consisting of static and expressionless facial features, staring eyes, and partially open mouth
What is cogwheel rigidity?
muscle tension that intermittently halts movement as an examiner attempts to manipulate a limb
What is the biological basis of Parkinson’s disease?
decreased dopamine production in the substantia nigra
