Readings Condensed Flashcards
What are the key symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders?
Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought, disorganized/abnormal motor behaviors, and negative symptoms such as anhedonia and avolition.
What are some risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum disorders?
Genetic predisposition (e.g., high concordance rates in monozygotic twins), environmental influences such as trauma, obstetric complications, and substance use like cannabis.
What is the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia spectrum disorders?
Symptoms must persist for at least six months with significant functional decline. Diagnosis often requires ruling out other medical or substance-induced causes.
What is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?
Dysregulated dopamine activity is linked to positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
What is the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia?
Dysfunctional glutamate receptors are implicated in schizophrenia symptoms.
What are the pharmacological treatment options for schizophrenia?
First and second-generation antipsychotics with a focus on managing side effects.
What are some psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, social skills training, and supported employment programs.
How can stigma around schizophrenia be reduced?
Educating patients, families, and the public about the nature of the disorder.
What was the significance of chlorpromazine in schizophrenia treatment?
Its development marked a significant shift in schizophrenia treatment, highlighting the role of dopamine.
What are some challenges in the care of schizophrenia?
Medication adherence, managing side effects, addressing comorbid physical and substance use disorders, and ensuring cultural sensitivity and patient-centered approaches.
What is delusional disorder?
A disorder characterized by one or more delusions lasting at least one month without other major psychotic symptoms.
What is brief psychotic disorder?
A disorder where symptoms last between one day to one month, with full recovery.
What is schizoaffective disorder?
A disorder involving a combination of psychotic symptoms and mood episodes such as depression or mania.
What is catatonia?
A syndrome characterized by symptoms such as stupor, mutism, rigidity, catalepsy, waxy flexibility, and repetitive movements.
What are cultural considerations in diagnosing schizophrenia?
Expressions of delusions and hallucinations vary by culture; diagnostic considerations should account for cultural norms and beliefs.
What is the prevalence of schizophrenia worldwide?
Approximately 1% of the global population is affected by schizophrenia.
What are some predictors of poor outcomes in schizophrenia?
Negative symptoms, early onset, and lack of treatment adherence.
What are the key findings of the Vermont deinstitutionalization model?
It demonstrated the potential for recovery with individualized, multidisciplinary interventions.
What is the role of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in schizophrenia treatment?
CBT addresses distorted thoughts, delusions, and hallucinations to help patients manage their symptoms.
What is the role of family therapy in schizophrenia treatment?
It focuses on improving communication and reducing expressed emotion within families.
What are the five domains of schizophrenia symptoms?
Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and negative symptoms.
What are persecutory delusions?
The belief of being harmed or targeted by others.
What are grandiose delusions?
An exaggerated sense of one’s importance or abilities.
What are somatic delusions?
A preoccupation with health or body functions.
What are erotomanic delusions?
The belief that someone is in love with the individual.
What are referential delusions?
The belief that events or actions relate specifically to oneself.
What are nihilistic delusions?
A conviction of impending catastrophe or nonexistence.
What are auditory hallucinations?
Perception-like experiences of hearing voices without external stimuli.
What is hypnagogic hallucination?
Hallucinations occurring while falling asleep, not considered psychotic.
What is hypnopompic hallucination?
Hallucinations occurring while waking up, not considered psychotic.
What is loose association in speech?
Abrupt shifts from one topic to another.
What is tangentiality in speech?
Irrelevant or incomplete responses that do not directly answer the question.
What is incoherence or word salad?
Speech that is incomprehensible due to disorganization.
What are examples of grossly disorganized behavior in schizophrenia?
Childlike silliness, agitation, unusual postures, mutism, or excessive movement.
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Diminished emotional expression, avolition, alogia, anhedonia, and asociality.
What is the primary characteristic of delusional disorder?
Presence of one or more delusions lasting at least one month without other major psychotic symptoms.
What is the duration criterion for brief psychotic disorder?
Symptoms last between one day and one month, followed by full recovery.
What is the duration criterion for schizophreniform disorder?
Symptoms last less than six months, without the functional decline required for schizophrenia diagnosis.
What is the duration criterion for schizophrenia?
Symptoms must persist for at least six months, with at least one month of active-phase symptoms.
What differentiates schizoaffective disorder from schizophrenia?
Schizoaffective disorder includes psychotic symptoms along with mood episodes like depression or mania.
What are the diagnostic features of catatonia?
Symptoms such as stupor, mutism, negativism, rigidity, catalepsy, waxy flexibility, and repetitive movements.
How does cultural context affect schizophrenia diagnosis?
Delusions and hallucinations may have culturally specific expressions, requiring clinicians to account for cultural norms and beliefs.
What is the impact of schizophrenia on social functioning?
Individuals often experience impairment in relationships, employment, and daily life activities.
What is the Clinician-Rated Dimensions of Psychosis Symptom Severity scale?
A tool used to assess the severity of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, abnormal motor behavior, and negative symptoms.
How does schizophrenia differ from OCD with delusional beliefs?
Delusional-level beliefs in OCD are diagnosed as OCD with absent insight/delusional beliefs rather than a separate psychotic disorder.
How does schizophrenia differ from mood disorders with psychotic features?
Psychotic symptoms in mood disorders occur exclusively during mood episodes, while in schizophrenia they persist outside of mood disturbances.
What is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?
Overactivity of dopamine pathways, particularly in the mesolimbic system, contributes to positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
What are the neuroanatomical abnormalities seen in schizophrenia?
Enlarged ventricles, reduced gray matter, and abnormalities in the frontal lobe.
What is the heritability rate of schizophrenia?
Approximately 80%, with increased risk in first-degree relatives.
What is the role of cannabis use in schizophrenia risk?
Early cannabis use, especially in genetically predisposed individuals, increases the risk of schizophrenia.
What are the three common courses of schizophrenia?
Chronic impairment, episodic symptoms with partial or full remission, and relatively stable recovery.
What are some predictors of poor outcomes in schizophrenia?
Severe negative symptoms, early onset, recurrent episodes, and medication non-adherence.
What is the primary treatment for positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Antipsychotic medications, including first-generation (e.g., haloperidol) and second-generation (e.g., clozapine, risperidone) antipsychotics.
What are common side effects of first-generation antipsychotics?
Motor side effects such as tardive dyskinesia and extrapyramidal symptoms.
How does cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) help in schizophrenia treatment?
CBT helps address distorted thoughts, delusions, and hallucinations to improve coping strategies.
What are some psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia?
Family therapy, social skills training, and vocational rehabilitation to improve functional recovery.
What is the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia?
Suggests schizophrenia originates from disruptions in early brain development, leading to long-term structural and functional abnormalities.
What is the impact of urban living on schizophrenia risk?
Higher incidence of schizophrenia has been observed in urban areas compared to rural settings.
What did the WHO cross-cultural studies find about schizophrenia outcomes?
Developing countries tend to have better remission rates and fewer chronic cases compared to developed countries.
How does socioeconomic status affect schizophrenia risk?
Lower socioeconomic status is linked to higher schizophrenia risk, likely due to social adversity and stress.
What are some early childhood signs of schizophrenia risk?
Social withdrawal, neuromotor impairments, and cognitive deficits in early childhood can be predictive of later schizophrenia onset.
What is the gene-environment interaction theory in schizophrenia?
Genetic predisposition interacts with environmental factors such as prenatal stress, malnutrition, and urban upbringing to influence schizophrenia risk.
What is the COMT gene’s role in schizophrenia risk?
The COMT Val158Met polymorphism influences dopamine metabolism, with Val allele carriers at higher risk for cannabis-induced psychosis.
How does polygenic inheritance affect schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia involves multiple genetic variants with small individual effects rather than a single causal gene.
What is the significance of polygenic risk scores (PRS) in schizophrenia?
PRS estimate an individual’s genetic predisposition to schizophrenia based on the cumulative effects of multiple genetic variants.
What is the importance of early psychosis intervention programs?
Reducing the Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) improves long-term outcomes by facilitating earlier access to treatment and support.
