Schizophrenia Flashcards
This disorder can produce
profound disruptions to functioning. Major
symptoms include hallucinations, delusions,
withdrawal and lack of emotional engagement,
disorganized speech, and behavioural problems.
Schizophrenia
Genetic vulnerability, Neurochemical bases, Neurochemical bases
Etiology: Biological factors
Twin studies and other
evidence suggest a
genetic predispositon to
schizophrenic disorders.
Genetic vulnerability
Overactivity in neural circuits releasing dopamine is associated with schizophrenia; but abnormalities in other neurotransmitter systems may also contribute.
Neurochemical bases
Enlarged brain ventricles are associated with schizophrenia, but they may be an effect rather than a cause of the disorder.
Structural abnormalities in brain
Expressed emotion, Stress, The neurodevelopmental hypothesis
Etiology: Psychological factors
A family’s__________________ is a good predictor of the course of a schizophrenic patient’s illness.
Expressed emotion
High stress can precipitate schizophrenic disorder in people who are vulnerable to schizophrenia.
Stress
Insults to the brain sustained during prenatal development or at birth may disrupt maturational processes in the brain, resulting in elevated vulnerability to schizophrenia.
The neurodevelopmental hypothesis
appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions.
* Including distortions in thought content (delusions), perception (hallucinations), language and thought processes (disorganized speech), and self monitoring of behaviour (grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour)
Positive symptoms
Two dimensions of positive symptoms
psychotic dimension and disorganized dimension
includes delusions and hallucinations
“psychotic dimension”
includes disorganized speech and behaviour
“disorganized dimension”
appear to reflect a diminution or loss of normal functions
Negative symptoms
erroneous beliefs that usually involve a misrepresentation
of perceptions or experience, and are resistant to change even in the face of conflicting evidence. Content may include a variety of themes
Delusions
