Schizophrenia Flashcards
WHat is schizophrenia classified as?
A psychotic disorder.
Prevalence of Schizophrenia?
1 in 100.
Who is the most important scientist for schizophrenia?
Emil Kraeplin
What did Emil Kraeplin call it?
Dementia Praecox
Who replaced the old name?
Eugen Bleuler.
What are positive symptoms?
Positive symptoms are normal things but are extremely higher.
What are negative symptoms?
Negative symptoms are normal things that are loss.
What are cognitive symptoms?
Cognitive symptoms are symptoms that are characterized by erratic changes in speech, motor behavior, and emotions.
What are some positive symptoms?
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
What are the negative symptoms?
- Apathy (inability to perform basic tasks)
- Autism (keep to oneself, lose interest in others)
- Ambivalence (emotional and social withdrawal)
- Ahedonia (without pleasure)
- Affective Flattening (absence of visible emotions)
What are cognitive symptoms?
- Disorganized speech (word salad)
- Inappropriate affect (inappropriate emotions in a situation)
- Disorganized behavior (motor symptoms: catatonic immobility)
DSM-5 Diagnostic criteria
- Long-lasting
- Diminished level of function
- Not due to drugs or other medical conditions
- At least one of delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech.
What is the prodromal stage?
1-2 years earlier.
Prognosis of schizophrenia?
78% of people go through relapse and recovery.
What is the etiology of schizophrenia?
There is a genetic link to schizophrenia.
What are the perinatal factors?
- Fetal exposure to influenza or other viruses
- Prenatal nutrition/stress
- Complications in pregnancy/delivery
What is the difference in brain structure?
- Schizophrenia patients show enlarged lateral ventricles. (Cause or consequence unknown)
- Decrease brain mass (maybe because of cell density loss?)
What do post-mortem brains from schizophrenia patients show?
- Reduced dendritic spine density in schizophrenia patient
- Reduced synaptic contact in the prefrontal cortex
What about the hippocampus?
- Reduction of hippocampus size due to degradation over time.
- Hippocampus neurons are disorganized and have reduced cell volume.
What is the main drug for treating schizophrenia?
Chlorpromazine,
What is unique about the drugs?
They reduce psychotic symptoms without producing too much general sedation.
What is the mechanism of action of first-generation drugs?
D2 receptor blocker/antagonist to dopamine receptors/stop dopamine to enter neuron.
What is the first gen theory of schizophrenia?
Too much dopamine.
What is schizophrenia caused by?
Prenatal problems that later in development get disrupted/alter hippocampus development.
What are positive symptoms caused by?
Excessive stimulation of dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum.
What relieves positive symptoms?
Blocking dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum with drugs like chlorpromazine.
What part of brain is the most important for schizophrenia?
Dopamine D2 receptors are found in several places, but it seems that the striatum is the most important for schizophrenia.
Which imaging technique can see the D2 receptors?
PET scans (Positron Emission Tomography)
What can mimic psychosis?
Use of cocaine or amphetamines.
What about the D1 receptors?
Schizophrenia may also involve under-stimulation of dopamine D1 receptors in the prefrontal cortex.
What is the D1 receptor problem called?
Hypofrontality
What does hypofrontality cause?
Struggle with planning, problem-solving, and high-level reasoning.
What is hypofrontality?
Hypofrontality too little activation in the prefrontal cortex.
How does stopping drugs affect schizophrenia?
It destroys stability.
