Schizophrenia

Question 1

Schizophrenia

Answer 1

A psychotic disorder marked by severely impaired thinking, emotions & behaviour

Question 2

What symptoms do they experience

Answer 2

Positive and negative

Question 3

Positive symptoms

Answer 3

Enhance their typical experience, an addition to their normal experience

Question 4

Examples of positive symptoms

Answer 4

• Hallucinations: distorted view of perception
• Delusions: irrational beliefs
• Disorganised speech: abnormal thought processes
• Catatonic behaviour: reduced reaction to the environment

Question 5

Types of delusions

Answer 5

• Paranoid delusions: a belief the person is being followed
• Delusions of grandeur: they think they are famous or have special abilities
• Delusions of reference: person on TV is stalking them

Question 6

Examples of negative symptoms

Answer 6

• speech poverty: there is abnormally low levels of frequency, quality of speech
• avolition: reduction interest,desires,goals
  Inability to cope with day-to-day tasks
• anhedonia: loss of interests or pleasure in all activities
• affective flattening: reduction in emotional expression

Question 7

What are the two classification systems for mental disorders

Answer 7

• DSM-V: US
• ICD-10: Europe

Question 8

What are the requirements for a diagnosis by the DSM-V

Answer 8

• 2 or more symptoms

Question 9

What are the biological explanations

Answer 9

• Genetic explanations
• Dopamine hypothesis
• Neural correlates

Question 10

Genetic explanations:running in families

Answer 10

Gottesman found that the closer the genetic link between you and someone with SZ, the higher chance of you developing illness

Question 11

Genetic explanations: candidate genes

Answer 11

There isn’t one single gene for SZ but a collection of gene locations associated with a higher risk of developing SZ, so SZ is polygenetic

Question 12

Dopamine hypothesis (high levels)

Answer 12

Symptoms of SZ are due to high levels of dopamine in the subcortex
Hyperdopaminergia (high levels of dopamine) in the Broca’s area may lead to auditory hallucinations.

Question 13

Dopamine hypothesis (low levels)

Answer 13

Hypodopaminergia (lower levels of dopamine) in the frontal cortex are linked to negative symptoms like avolition and speech poverty.

Question 14

What research supports the dopamine hypothesis

Answer 14

In meta analysis including 212 studies Leucht found that drug treatments that work by normalising dopamine levels were more effective than a placebo . This treatment directly influences dopamine systems supports the dopamine hypothesis.

Question 15

Psychological explanations

Answer 15

• Family dysfunctions
• Cognitive explanations

Question 16

Family dysfunction: the SZ mother

Answer 16

Paranoid delusions result from the influence of a cold, rejecting, controlling mother & a passive father. Creates an atmosphere of tension that triggers psychotic thinking

Question 17

Family dysfunction: Double bind theory

Answer 17

The child receives mixed messages and they fear doing the wrong thing.
When child hets it’s wrong they are punished w withdrawal of love which leads to disorganised thinking and paranoia

Question 18

Family dysfunction: Expressed emotions

Answer 18

The level of negative emotions expressed to patients
- verbal criticism
- hostility towards them
- emotional over-involvement in patients life
High levels of EE can cause stress leading to relapse or stress could tigger those vulnerable that have genetic link ( diathesis stress model)

Question 19

Cognitive explanations

Answer 19

Thought processes being dysfunctional suggesting cognition is impaired.
- Frith et al identifies 2 kinds of dysfunctional thought processes that could cause symptoms:
- meta-representation
- central control

Question 20

Cognitive explanations

Answer 20

Being able to identify your thoughts and actions