Schizophrenia Flashcards
Definition of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
- varies in duration and severity (≥ 6 months)
- delusions, hallucinations, catatonic behaviour, disorganised thoughts, negative symptoms
Name 3 examples of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
- delusion disorder
- schizoaffective disorder
- schizotypal disorder
- catatonia associated
- substance psychotic disorder
- brief psychotic disorder
Who’s case study is associated with schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
Conrad, aged 23
What was Conrad’s disorder and how was it treated?
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Had first psychotic episode on holiday
- 8 months in psychiatric hospital
- trial and error, drug treatment worked (weight gain side effect)
What’s another alternative for symptom assessments?
Virtual reality (Freeman, 2008)
How does VR work in this context?
- simulating social environments
- specifically designed library/underground train scene
- neutral avatars to “check you out”
- trialed on non clinical population (200 students)
What were the measures taken prior and after the assessment?
Prior: Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale (GPTS) Part B
After: persecutory thinking, visual analogue rating scales, assessment of their degree of immersion
What were the results of the VR Assessment?
- questionnaire assessment of paranoia high, level of “persecutory ideation” high
- auditory hallucinations in VR environment heard = in real life as well
Genetic explanation of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders on endophenotypes/psychosis
Gottesman & Shields
- psychosis consists of a series of abnormalities of function
- symptoms with genetic origin (endophenotypes)
- sensory dysfunction, working memory impairment
Types of Delusion disorder and explanations
- Jealous: believing partner is cheating
- Persecutory: someone has intentions of harming you/ill intent
- Grandiose: have great set of skill/position
- Erotomatic: people are in love with you
Genetic explanation with twin studies
- type of twin determined by blood group & fingerprint analysis
- interviews & cognitive tests (objective sorting)
- case summary of each participant independently evaluated by judges external to research
Genetic explanation with twin studies (results)
- low concordance: izygotic twins scored higher than monozygotic twins
- co-twin concordance: more likely in severe cases than mild
- in MZ, more likely if illness of twin is severe
Biochemical explanations to schizophrenia and psychotic disorders
- Dopamine hypothesis
- Drug trials
- Post-mortem studies
How does the Dopamine Hypothesis explain schizophrenia and psychotic disorders?
“Brains produce more ____ than those without the disorder.
____ using ____ fire too often/send too much info.”
- brains of schizophrenic patients produce more DOPAMINE than those without the disorder
- NEURONS using DOPAMINE fire too often/send too much info
What is dopamine?
A neurotransmitter. A chemical substance that enables communication between neurons. Passing nerve impulses across the synapse
How can PET scans explain biochemical effects on positive symptoms and negative symptoms?
-positive symptoms:
more receptors of dopamine is detected (@ striatum, limbic system, cortex)
-negative symptoms: decreased dope activity in prefrontal cortex of patients
What region in the brain relates to certain symptoms when in excess of dopamine?
Broca’s region; impairment of logical speech
In drug trials, what could explain the increase in dopamine and what are the side effects?
Amphetamines & cocaine; increase in hallucinations & delusions
How does drugs affect the patients
Worsens positive symptoms
What is L-Dopa and it’s use?
L-Dopa is a synthetic form of dopamine; treat Parkinson’s disease (when dose too high, hallucinations might occur)
