Schizophrenia

Question 1

what is the hyperdopaminergia hypothesis?

Answer 1

states that high levels of dopamine in the brain subcortex e.g in the brocas area which is responsible for speech production there is a high amount of dopamine receptors leading to symptoms such as auditory hallucinations+speech pov

Question 2

what is co morbidity?

Answer 2

occurrence of two or more disorders at the same time

Question 3

what are the 3 positive symptoms of schz?

Answer 3

• hallucinations
  -delusions
  -speech disorganisation

Question 4

what are the 2 negative symptoms of schz?

Answer 4

-speech poverty
- avolition

Question 5

why does classification+diagnosis lack reliability. hint: psychiatrists

Answer 5

lacks inter rater reliability. RS- two psychiatrists independently diagnosed 100 patients using DSM+ICD. reliability was poor as 1 psychiatrist diagnosed 26 with DSM and 44 w/ ICD. whereas other DSM=13,ICD=24

Question 6

Why is the classification + diagnosis gender bias?

Answer 6

longnecker reviewed studies + found in 1980s men had higher diagnosis then women. this is down to women functioning better e.g work with the condition. therefore, interpersonal functioning bias practitioners to underdiagnose women.

Question 7

family dysfunction(psychological) explanation for schz: schizophrenogenic mother

Answer 7

accounts from schz patients on childhood=particular type of parent during childhood- cold rejecting,controlling mother, creating a climate of tension,secrecy. leading to distrust that later develops to delusions+schz

Question 8

family dysfuntion explanation: double bind theory

Answer 8

bateson: emphasised the role of communication in the family. developing child finds themselves regularly in situation where they fear doing the wrong thing but get mixed msgs about what this is, but feel unable to comment on the unfairness. if so, punished by withdrawal of love. leaves there understanding of the world confusing=reflected in paranoid delusions/disorganised thinking-risk factor

Question 9

family dysfunction explanation: expressed emotion

Answer 9

level of negative emotion showed towards the patient from carer. contains: verbal criticisms,hostility, emotionl over-involvement in the life of patient.= serious source of stress for the patient=primary cause of a relapse. diathesis stress model-this can cause schz in those genetically vulnerable

Question 10

where is reduced proccessing associated with positive and negative symptoms

Answer 10

negative symptoms is the ventrial striatum
positive symptoms is the temporal+cingulate gyri. cognitions=impaired

Question 11

what were the 2 types of dysfunctional though processing that frith identified?

Answer 11

1. metapresentation
2. central control

Question 12

what is metrarepresentation?how does it link to schz

Answer 12

cognituve ability to reflect on thoughts+behav.
schz=inability to recognise our thoughts+behav=due to ourselves- explains hallucinations+delusions(thought insertion)

Question 13

what is central control+how does it link to schz

Answer 13

capability to suppress automatic responses while we perform deliberate actions instead. e.g speech disorganisation-derailment due to thoughts triggering words ass that the patient cant suppress

Question 14

support for family dysfuntion what was the study?

Answer 14

studied 46 schz patients+found 69% women +59% men suffered abuse physical/sexual

Question 15

what is symptom overlap?

Answer 15

when 2 different disorders have a symptom in common

Question 16

what is the hypodopaminergia hypothesis

Answer 16

-goldman: role of low lvls in prefrontal cortex(decsion-making+thinking)
-neg sympoms e.g avolition/speech pov

Question 17

what are neural correlates?

Answer 17

measurements of the structure/function of the brain that link to certain experience

Question 18

what are the neural correlates 4 neg symptoms?

Answer 18

avolition
-motivation involves anticipiation of a reward
- ventral striatum=impo in this process
- juckel: low lvls of activity in ventral striatum in schz comp to cntrls
-neg correlation btwn severity of symptom+activity of ventral striatum

Question 19

what are the neural correlates for pos symptoms?

Answer 19

• scanned schz patients w/aud halluincations+comp to cntrol whilst theyv identified speech as theirs/others
• lower lvls of activation in superior temporal gyrus+anterior cingulate gyrus+made erros

Question 20

what is polygenic?

Answer 20

no. genes=small increase risk of schz e.g PCM1

Question 21

what is aetiologically heterogeneous?

Answer 21

different combos of factors can lead to the condition

Question 22

what was ripkes study of genetic factors in2 schz+findings

Answer 22

studied genetic makeup of 37,000 patients, found 108 sep genetic variations incr. risk

Question 23

dopamine hypothesis eval:mixed evidence

Answer 23

-evidence 2 suggest that dopamine=not complete neurotransmitter explanation-
-genes identified in ripkes studied found dopamine=important but other neurotrasnmitters=important 2 e.g glutamate. Evidence=not conclusive 4 d

Question 24

overall eval for biological explanations: blame

Answer 24

doesn’t balme individual for their behave. Unlike behaviourist,TF reduces the stigma ass/ w the disorder

Question 25

eval for genetic explanation: strong evidence

Answer 25

4 genetic vulnerability- e.g Gottesman study=shared genetic simality=incr risk+ adoption studied by tienari suggest children w/schz patients=still at risk even if adopted family=no history. H/E not entirely genetic-environ factors 2

Question 26

genetic eval: role of mutation

Answer 26

• take place in absence of family history through DNA mutation e.g through parental sperm from radiation,poison,viral infection,
  -evidence=from study showing pos correlation btwn paternal age(incr. of sperm mutation+risk of schz. May be biologically, not genetically-doesn’t consider

Question 27

eval for neural correlate: causation

Answer 27

unusual activity in brain e.g ventral striatum may not cause symptom, negative symptoms may cause the reduced info processing not vice versa