schizophrenia

Question 1

what is schizophrenia?

Answer 1

serious mental condition involving a breakdown in the relationship between thought, emotion and behaviour
leads to faulty perception, withdrawal from reality into fantasy
type of psychosis
may see, hear or believe things that are not real

Question 2

how is schizophrenia diagnosed?

Answer 2

Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) states the patient needs to display two or more of the Criterion A symptoms for over a month, or one very bizarre instance
can’t preform normal roles like they once could
in 2012, 220,000 people were diagnosed = 1 in 100
age of onset is 15-35
affects females and males in equal numbers

Question 3

what are the different types of schizophrenia?

Answer 3

• paranoid schizophrenia : delusions and hallucinations are present, but thought disorder, disorganised behaviour and effective flattening are absent
• disorganised schizophrenia : disorganised speech and behaviour and effective flattening are present together
• catatonic schizophrenia : prominent psychomotor disturbances are evident

Question 4

what are the stages of development for schizophrenia?

Answer 4

1. reactive phase : individual becomes withdrawn, eccentric, flat or unproductive
2. active phase : the major symptoms and characteristics of schizophrenia appear, stage may vary from a few months to a lifetime
3. residual stage : returns to reactive stage after treatment

Question 5

what are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 5

*excess of normal functioning
- delusions : beliefs that are unreal, delusions that someone wants to harm you or a belief that you are superior, have powers or are someone important
- hallucinations : perceptions that are unreal, hearing voices or sounds, or the feeling of different sensations

Question 6

what are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 6

*a loss of normal functioning
- alogia : ‘poverty of speech’, reduction in speech, lack of meaning, or short responses given
- avolition : unconcerned with surroundings, don’t take part or show interest in things they used to
- affective flattening : lack of emotional displays of expression, no facial expressions in any situation

Question 7

what is the first biological explanation of schizophrenia?

Answer 7

the dopamine hypothesis
- Parkinson’s disease sufferers have low levels of dopamine so take L-Dopa to increase, some patients had SZ type symptoms (e.g. hallucinations)