Schizophrenia Flashcards
What is schizophrenia?
A chronic disorder characterized by acute episodes involving a break from reality, as manifested by such features as delusions, hallucinations, illogical thinking, incoherent speech, and bizarre behaviour
What are Bleuler’s 4 A’s?
Association = relationships among thoughts become disturbed
Affect = emotional responses become flattened or inappropriate
Ambivalence = hold conflicting feelings toward others
Autism = withdrawal into a private fantasy world that is not bound by principles of logic
What are first rank and second rank symptoms?
First rank = primary features of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions distinctly characterize the disorder
Second rank = symptoms associated with schizophrenia that also occur in other psychological disorders
What is the prevalence of schizophrenia?
1% of Canadian adults
Fifth leading cause of disability worldwide
Develops in early 20s
Men at slightly higher risk
What is the prodromal phase of schizophrenia?
Stage in which the early features or signs of the disorder become apparent
The period of decline in functioning that precedes the development of the first acute psychotic episode
What is the acute phase of schizophrenia?
Psychotic symptoms develop, such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech and behaviour
What is the residual phase of schizophrenia?
Follows an acute phase, characterized by a return to a level of functioning of the prodromal phase
What are delusions of persecution?
Believing that someone is out to get you
What are delusions of reference?
Believing that people around you are making fun of you
What are delusions of being controlled?
Believing that one’s thoughts, feelings, impulses, or actions are controlled by external forces
What are delusions of grandeur?
Believing oneself to be Jesus or to be on a special mission
What is thought broadcasting?
Believing that one’s thoughts are somehow transmitted to the external world so that others can overhear them
What is thought insertion?
Believing that one’s thoughts have been planted in one’s mind by an external source
What is thought withdrawal?
Believing that thoughts have been removed from one’s mind
What is thought disorder?
A breakdown in the organization, processing, and control of thoughts
What are neologisms?
The coining of new words
What is preservation?
Persistent repetition of the same thought or train of thought
What is clanging?
Stringing words together that rhyme
What is blocking?
Involuntary abrupt interruption of speech or thought
What are hallucinations?
Perceptions that occur in the absence of an external stimulus
What are the types of hallucinations?
Visual/auditory
Tactile/somatic
Gustatory/olfactory
Command hallucinations
What are the causes of hallucinations?
Too much dopamine action in the brain
What is catatonia?
Gross disturbances in motor activity and cognitive functioning
What are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Hallucinations Delusions Thought disorder Disorganized speech Disorganized behaviour
What are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Deficits or behavioural deficiencies Social-skills deficits Social withdrawal Flattened affect Poverty of speech and thought Psychomotor retardation Failure to experience pleasure
What is the psychodynamic perspective of schizophrenia?
Overwhelming of the ego by primitive sexual or aggressive drives or impulses from the id causes primary narcissism or a regression to an early period in the oral stage
What do primitive impulses cause as laid out by the psychodynamic theory?
Causes bizarre, socially deviant behaviour and give rise to hallucinations and delusions
What is the learning perspective of schizophrenia?
Behaviour may result from a lack of social reinforcement which leads to gradual detachment from the social environment and increased attention to an inner world of fantasy
What are the genetic factors of schizophrenia?
Cross fostering studies examine differences in prevalence among adoptions reared by adoptive parents or biological parents
What are the biochemical factors of schizophrenia?
Have a greater than normal number of dopamine receptors in their brains or have receptors that are overly sensitive to dopamine
What are neuroleptic drugs?
Block dopamine receptors
How would viral infections cause schizophrenia?
Slow-acting virus that attacks the developing brain of a fetus or newborn child can damage it
Vitamin D deficiency and schizophrenia?
Children born with a vitamin D deficiency have a 44% higher risk of later developing schizophrenia
Brain abnormalities and schizophrenia?
Loss or thinning of brain tissue, especially in the prefrontal cortex
Abnormally enlarged ventricles
Abnormal brain functioning
What is the schizophrenogenic mother?
Cold, aloof, but also overprotective and domineering
What is the double-bind communications theory?
The transmission of contradictory or mixed messages
What is communication deviance?
Unclear, vague, disruptive, or fragmented parental communication
What is expressed emotion?
Hostile, critical, and unsupportive of the schizophrenic family member
What medications treat schizophrenia?
Antipsychotic drugs
Phenothiazines
Haloperidol
What is tardive dyskinesia/
Movement disorder characterized by involuntary movements of the face, mouth, neck, trunk, or extremities caused by long-term use of antipsychotic drugs
What are learning-based methods of treating schizophrenia?
Selective reinforcement of appropriate behaviour Withdrawal of attention Token economy Social skills training CBT
What are the methods of psychosocial rehabilitation for schizophrenia?
Self help groups
Family intervention programs
Community programs
Early intervention programs
What are the Canadian treatment guidelines for schizophrenia?
Comprehensive model of care
- antipsychotic medications
- psychoeducational programs
- medical care
- crisis intervention
- CBT
- housing
