Sc - Classification of schizophrenia Flashcards
Avolition
The reduction, difficulty, or inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behaviour, often mistaken for apparent disinterest.
Delusions
Firmly held erroneous beliefs that are caused by distortions of reasoning or misinterpretations of perceptions or experiences.
Hallucinations
Distortions or exaggerations of perception in any of the senses, most notably auditory hallucinations.
Negative symptoms
Appear to reflect a diminution or loss of normal functioning.
Positive symptoms
Appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functioning.
Schizophrenia
A type of psychosis characterised by a profound disruption of cognition and emotion.
Speech poverty
The lessening of speech fluency and productivity, which reflects slowing or blocked thoughts.
How many people does schizophrenia affect?
4/1000 (Saha et al., 2005).
1% of the population at some point in their lifetime.
At what age is schizophrenia most often diagnosed?
15-35
Who is more affected by schizophrenia?
Men and women equally.
How is schizophrenia diagnosed?
Using the DSM-V or ICD (in Europe).
What has to be present for schizophrenia to be diagnosed (DSM-V)?
- ) 2 or more of; delusions, hallucinations, disorganised speech, disorganised/catatonic behaviour, negative symptoms, for at least 1 month. (one of which must be in the first 3).
- ) Level of functioning in one or more major areas must be disturbed for a significant proportion of time.
- ) Continuous signs of disturbance for 6 months (with at least 1 month of symptoms.
- ) Schizoaffective disorder and depressive or bipolar disorder with psychotic features have been ruled out.
- ) Disturbance isn’t attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or other medical condition.
- ) If there is a history of autism spectrum disorder or similar, the additional diagnosis of schizophrenia is only made if prominent hallucinations, in addition to other required symptoms are also present for at least 1 month (or less if successfully treated).
What does DSM stand for?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders.
What is DSM?
A classification and description of over 200 mental disorders, grouped in terms of their common features.
What does ICD stand for?
International classification of Diseases.
What are the symptoms of schizophrenia typically divided into?
Positive and negative symptoms.
What are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
- Hallucinations.
- Delusions.
- Disorganised speech.
- Grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour.
Describe hallucinations
- Bizarre, unreal perceptions of the environment.
- Usually auditory (hearing voices), may be visual (seeing lights, objects, people), olfactory (smelling things) or tactile (feeling things, e.g. bugs crawling on body).
- Many schizophrenics hear a voice (or several voices), telling them to do something (such as harm themselves or someone else) or commenting on their behaviour.
What are the different hallucinations?
Usually auditory (hearing voices).
May be:
- Visual (seeing lights, objects, people).
- Olfactory (smelling things).
- Tactile (feeling things, e.g. bugs crawling on body/under skin).
Describe delusions
- Bizarre beliefs that seem real.
- Can be paranoid (i.e. persecutory) in nature (often involves a belief that the person is being followed or spied on by someone).
- May involve inflated beliefs about the person’s power and importance (delusions of grandeur) (may believe they are famous or have special powers or abilities).
- Delusions of reference where events in the environment appear to be directly related to them.
What are the different types of delusions?
Paranoid (i.e. persecutory) in nature (often involves a belief that the person is being followed or spied on by someone).
Delusions of grandeur (inflated beliefs about the person’s power and importance) (may believe they are famous or have special powers or abilities).
Delusions of reference where events in the environment appear to be directly related to them - e.g. special personal messages are being communicated through the TV or radio.