schizophrenia Flashcards
define schizophrenia
a severe mental disorder where contact with reality and insights are impaired, an example of psychosis
positive symptoms
hallucinations and delusions
Atypical symptoms experiences in addition to normal experiences
hallucinations
they are sensory experiences that have neither no basis in reality or are distorted perceptions of things that are there.
most commonly = auditory - report hearing voices that instruct them to do something
delusions
involve beliefs that have no basis in reality.
delusions of persecution = others want to harm, threaten or manipulate you
delusions of grandeur = idea that you are an important individual
delusions of control = they are under the control of an force that has invaded their mind and/or body
negative symptoms
atypical experience that represent the loss of a usual experience
speech poverty and Avolition
speech poverty
involves reduced frequency and quality of speech
- characteristics by a lack of ability to produce fluent words - reflects slow or blocked thoughts
avolition
involves loss of motivation to carry out tasks and results in lowered activity levels
reduction, difficulty or inability to continue/ start goal directed behaviors
family dysfunction - schizophrenic mother
- Psychodynamic explanation for schizophrenia
- based on the accounts she heard from her patients about their childhood
- Particular type of parent – cold, rejecting and controlling and tends to create a family climate that characterized by tension and secrecy
- This creates distrust that later develops into paranoid delusions and schizophrenia
family dysfunction - double blind theory
family climate is important in the development of schizophrenia but communication styles
- Developing child finds themselves stuck in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing
- receive mixed messages about the situation
- unable to communicate on the unfairness of the situation or seek clarification
- Punished with the withdrawal of love
- Leaves them to understand the world as a confusing and dangerous place = disorganized thinking and delusions
family dysfunction - expressed emotions
- The level of emotions expressed towards a person with schizophrenia by their career/ family member
- Usually, negative
- Elements = verbal criticism accompanied by violence, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement
- High level of EE directed toward them coursing a source of stress
- Primary explanation for relapse in people with schizophrenia
- However, stress can trigger the onset of schizophrenia in a person who is already vulnerable.
- Diathesis stress model
cognitive explanation - dysfunctional explanation
- focuses on the role of cognitive processes
- Provide possible explanation of schizophrenia as a whole
- Schizophrenia provides a disruption to normal thought processing (shown in symptoms)
- Reduce thought processing in the ventral striatum associated with negative symptoms
- Reduced processing of information in the temporal and cingulate gyri, associated with hallucinations
cognitive explanation -Metarepresentation dysfunction
- Meta-representation = Cognitive ability to reflect on thoughts and behaviors that allows insight into our own intentions and goals
- Dysfunction in meta-representative = disrupts our ability to recognize our own thoughts and actions as being their own not someone else’s.
- Explain hallucinations and delusions
central control dysfunction - cognitive explanation
- Central control dysfunction = issue with cognitive ability to suppress automatic responses while preforming deliberate actions.
- Speech poverty and thought disorder could result from this inability to suppress automatic thought and speech triggers by other thoughts
Frith et al
- Identify two kinds of dysfunctional thought processes
1. Meta-representation
2. Central control dysfunction
define antipsychotics
Antipsychotic = drugs used to reduce the intensity of symptoms, in particular the positive symptoms, of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.
typical antipsychotics
Chlorpromazine – typical antipsychotic
- Used to combat positive symptoms e.g., delusions and hallucinations
- Used to reduce/block the effect of dopamine
- Are a dopamine antagonist as they bind to dopamine receptors (D2), reducing their action and do not stimulate them.
- Reduce dopamine in the mesolimbic system in the brain.
- Ensuring the postsynaptic cells receive less dopamine, normalizing neurotransmitter levels.
atypical antipsychotics
Clozapine – atypical antipsychotic
- Used to combat positive symptoms but may also benefit negative symptoms
- work on the dopamine system but also block serotonin and glutamate receptors
- temporarily occupy D2 receptors and then rapidly dissociating it to allow normal dopamine distribution (still receive less dopamine)
- have lower level of side effects than typical antipsychotics