Schizophrenia Flashcards
What is schizophrenia?
It as a chronic condition which affects individual’s thinking, perception and affect
It tends to result in psychosis, which is characterised by an inability to distinguish delusions, hallucinations and disordered thinking from reality
What is schizoaffective disorder?
It is a condition in which individuals suffer from a combination of mild affective and schizophrenia features
What are the three neurochemical changes in schizophrenia?
There are increased dopamine levels in the mesocorticolimbic system, which are thought to produce the positive features of schizophrenia
There are decreased dopamine levels in the mesocortical tracts, which are thought to produce the negative features of schizophrenia
Due to the positive feedback systems interacting with dopamine, there are also associated decreased glutamate levels and increased serotonin levels
What are the six classifications of schizophrenia?
Paranoid Schizophrenia
Hebephrenic Schizophrenia
Simple Schizophrenia
Catatonic Schizophrenia
Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
Residual Schizophrenia
What is the most common classification of schizophrenia?
Paranoid Schizophrenia
What is paranoid schizoprehnia?
It is characterised by paranoid delusions and auditory hallucinations
What is hepephrenic schizophrenia?
It is characterised by mood changes, unpredictable behaviour, shallow affect and fragmentary hallucinations
Which patient group tend to be affected by hepephrenic schizophrenia?
Young Adults
What is simple schizophrenia?
It is characterised by negative clinical features, with no experience of positive clinical features
What is catatonic schizophrenia?
It is characterised by psychomotor clinical features, such as posturing, rigidity and stupor
What is undifferentiated schizophrenia?
It is characterised by clinical features that do not fit into one of the other categories of schizophrenia
What is residual schizophrenia?
It is characterised by negative clinical features, which occur when the positive clinical features have ‘burnt out’
What are the eight risk factors associated with schizophrenia?
Male Gender, 18 – 25 Years Old
Female Gender, 25 – 35 Years Old
Black Caribbean Ethnicity
Family History
Pregnancy Complications
Traumatic Life Events
Substance Misuse
Lower Socioeconomic Status
What is the strongest risk factor of schizophrenia?
Family History
What are the three genes associated with schizophrenia?
Neuregulin (chromosome 8p)
Dysbindin (chromosome 6p)
Di George Syndrome (chromosome 22q)
What are the four pregnancy complications associated with schizophrenia?
Malnutrition
Viral Infection
Pre-Eclampsia
Emergency C-Sections
What three traumatic life events are associated with schizophrenia?
Migration
Sexual Abuse
Physical Abuse
What are the four substance misuses are associated with schizophrenia?
Cannabis
Cocaine
Amphetamines
LSD
What main substance misuse is associated with schizophrenia?
Cannabis
What is another term for positive schizophrenia clinical features?
First rank features
What are the seven positive clinical features of schizophrenia?
3rd Person Auditory Hallucinations
Thought Echo
Thought Insertion
Thought Withdrawal
Thought Broadcasting
Delusional Perception
Passivity Phenomena
What are hallucinations?
They are when individuals hear, see, smell, taste or feel things that appear to be real but only exist in their mind
What are three characteristic features of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia?
There are two or more voices discussing the patient in third person
There are voices commenting on the patient’s behaviour
There is thought echo
What is thought echo?
It is a form of auditory hallucination, in which the patient hears their thoughts spoken aloud
