Schizophrenia Flashcards
Define illusions
disorder of perception: misperception of real external stimuli
Define hallucinations
disorder of perception: sensory perceptions not generated by external stimuli (auditory hallucinations are most common)
Define Ideas of reference
disorder of thought content: false conviction that one is the subject of attn by other ppl or the media
define delusions
disorder of thought content: false beliefs not correctable by logic or reason, not based on simple ignorance, and not shared by a culture or subculture; delusions of persecution are most common.
Define loss of ego boundaries
disorder of thought processes: not knowing where one’s mind and body and those of others begin (e.g. a pt feels she is “merged” into others)
Define impaired abstraction ability
disorder of thought processes: difficulty in discerning the essential qualities of objects or relationships despite normal intelligence (e.g. when asked what brought him to the hospital, a pt says “bus”)
define magical thinking
disorder of thought processes: the idea that thoughts cause or prevent external events from happening
define alogia
disorder of form of though: lack of informative content typically seen in normal speech/”poverty of speech”
define echolalia
disorder of form of thought: associating words by their sounds, not by their logical meanings
define loose assoications
disorder of form of thought: loss of logical meaning btw words or thoughts (eg. pt talking about parents then about world hunger)
define neologisms
disorder of form of thought: inventing new words
define perserveration
disorder of form of thought: repeating the same word or phrase over and over
define tangentiality
disorder of form of thought: beginning a response in a logical fashion but then getting further and further from the point
define thought blocking
disorder of form of thought: abrupt halt in the train of thinking, often because of hallucinations
define word salad
disorder of form of thought: uttering unrelated combinations of words or phrases
What is psychotic disorder caused by a general medical condition (PDMC)?
medical illnesses that cause psychotic symptoms are referred to as PDMC. Examples of PDMCs are MS, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, neoplasms, neurologic infections, temporal lobe epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease. Endocrine disturbances like thyroid disease, Cushing’s, Addison’s, SLE. Metabolic disorders, vitamin deficiencies.
How to differentiate btw schizophrenia and psychotic disorder caused by a general medical condition (PDMC) (e.g Huntington’s, Parkinson’s)?
Schizophrenia itself is characterized by psychotic symptoms occurring concurrently with CLEAR CONSCIOUSNESS, the diagnosis of PDMC can be made only in the absence of delirium or dementia.
Psychosis in schizophrenia vs psychosis brought on by medications -how are they different?
schizophrenia –> flat affect
meds –> preservation of affect
What’s considered firstline therapy for schizophrenia?
atypical anti-psychotics aka second generation anti-psychotics (e.g. clozapine, riseridone, aripiprazole) because they cause fewer negative neurological effects (e.g. parkinsonism, tardive dyskinesia)
Not super high yield: but what are the 5 DSM-IV-TR subtypes of schizophrenia
1) undifferentiated (characteristic of more than 1 subtype)
2) paranoid
3) residual (no current frank psychotic symptoms but h/o of at least one previous psychotic episodes)
4) disorganized (hebephrenic)
5) catatonic
T/F: more than 50% of ppl with schizophrenia attempt suicide.
True
-often due to postpsychotic depression or when experiencing “command” hallucinations ordering them to harm themselves
List 8 factors that lead to better prognosis in schizophrenic patients
- are older at onset of illness
- are married
- have social relationships
- are female
- have good employment histories
- have mood symptoms
- have positive symptoms
- have experienced relatively few relapses
List the 3 characteristics and the prognosis of schizophrenia
- psychotic and residual symptoms lasting at least 6 months
- normal consciousness and memory function
- auditory hallucinations predominate
lifelong social and occupational impairment
List the 3 characteristics of psychotic disorder caused by a general medical condition (PDMC)
- hallucinations that are visual and changeable rather than auditory and recurrent
- occurs in context of an acute medical illness
- symptoms not due to delirium or dementia
psychotic symptoms remit when medical condition improves
List the 2 characteristics of brief psychotic disorder
- psychotic and residual symptoms lasting more than 1 day but less than 1 month
- obvious precipitating psychosocial factors
50-80% recover completely