Schizophrenia Flashcards
\what is schizophrenia
Oscillation between normal and abnormal sense of reality and sense of reality
What is Scz characterized by
Loss of contact with reality
Disruption of thought
-Perception
-Mood
-Movement
what is Epidemiology of Schizophrenia and what is it linked to?
1/100 lifetime risk in the general population.
Signs show at around the age of 15-25: This is when the prefrontal cortex usually develops.
What are is the meaning of positive and negative symptoms
Positive: presence of symptoms that are not normally there
Negative: Absence of normal symptoms
List some of the positive symptoms of SCZ
Delusions
Hallucinations
Disorganised speech
Grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour
List some negative symptoms of SCZ
Reduced expression of emotion
Poverty of speech
Difficulty in initiating goal-directed movements
Cognitive/Memory impairment
What are the subtypes of SCZ
- Paranoid schizophrenia: Delusion and hallucination
-thought disorder, disorganized behaviour, and mood flattening are absent - Disorganised: though disorder and mood flattening
- Cationic: agitated, purposeless movement
What are the causes of SCZ
Environmental factors
Genetics
What are the environmental factors that can lead to SCZ
Social stress
-especially early in life (Post or pre natal)
Prenatal infection and famine
Obstetric and perinatal complications
Older paternal age
Cannabis use/ substance misuse
What are the pathophysiological theories of Schizophrenia
1.Dopamine hypothesis
2.Glutamate hypothesis
3.GABA hypothesis
What is the Dopamine hypothesis
That excess dopaminergic NTission in mesolimbic and striatal brain region results in schizophrenic symptoms
What is the evidence behind the dopamine theory
- Most antipsychotics block D2 receptors
- Drugs that increase dopaminergic activity aggravate or produce sycosis
- D receptor numbers increase in post-mortem brain of schizophrenics
- Increase D receptor density
- Successful treatment changed levels of homovanillic acid (dopamine metabolite)
What the evidence against the dopamine hypothesis
Antipsychotic drugs only partially effective for most patients
NMDA receptor (glutamate receptor) antagonists (phencyclidine) more potent
What is the glutamatergic hypothesis of schizophrenia
NMDA receptor antagonist are potent dopamine releasers
-This caused psychotic symptoms in a health human
The treatment of SCZ with D-serine, glycine and sarcosine (NMDA receptor modulators) have therapeutic benefits
What is the GABAergic hypothesis of SCZ
Decrease in GABA leads to enhanced DA neuron activation there for more DA release
what are the main targets of antipsychotic drugs
Dopamine receptor and serotonin receptor