Schizophrenia Flashcards
What is the two factor model of schizophrenia?
Factor 1:
- confabulations and delusions
Factor 2:
- failure in a common set of evaluation and monitoring processes, which allow these thoughts to be accepted and maintained rather than being rejected (no “tag” by unconscious system)
What are the 3 main symptoms of schizophrenia + definitions?
1) positive symptoms = excesses of thoughts, emotions, or behaviors
2) negative symptoms = deficits of thought, emotion and behavior
3) disorganized symptoms = disturbance in the production and organization of thoughts
What is the prevalence and age of appearance of schizophrenia?
lifetime prevalence = 1%
appearance in late adolescence or early adulthood
What is the 2 phases which occur in the course of schizophrenia?
1) prodromal phase = period of significant symptoms are apparent
2) active phase = symptoms are most pronounced
3) residual phase = primary symptoms have subsided, but other symptoms may still be present
What are the outcomes for patients with schizophrenia 10 years after initial diagnosis?
25% completely recoverd 25% improved, relatively independent 25% improved, but extensive support required 15% hospitalized, unimproved 10% deceased (mostly suicide)
What are the most common comorbid disorders with schizophrenia?
50% substance abuse
up to 15% commit suicide
What is the etiology of schizophrenia?
- genetics
- neurotransmitters (abnormalities in DA, also serotonin, GABA, glutamate and others)
- brain imaging: enlarged ventricles
What are the 2 forms of pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia + their mechanisms?
1) traditional antipsychotic drugs
- primarily blocking D2 receptors
- reduction of positive and disorganized symptoms
- little or no effect on negative symptoms
2) atypical antipsychotic drugs
- not primarily blocking D2 receptors
- broader spectrum of receptor activity with higher affinities to other receptors (e.g. serotonin, GABA)
- reduction of positive and disorganized symptoms
- mabe better in reducing negative symptoms
Name the psychological treatments of schizophrenia (4)
- psychoanalytic therapies
- family therapy and reducing expressed emotion
- social-skills training
- CBT
What are the strongest neuropsychological predictors of clinical outcome in schizophrenia? (5)
- working memory
- executive functioning
- verbal learning
- memory
- processing speed
Do cognitive impairments precede schizophrenia?
Yes: cognitive deficits are markers of schizophrenia vulnerability
Describe the ethical dilemma of using animal models of schizophrenia
One the one hand: animal rights
On the other:
- experiments can be performed that cannot be performed in humans
- these experiments may be crucial for the development of new treatment approaches
How are the positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia measured in animal models?
- positive: hyperactivity, hyperlocomotion and stereotypic behavior
- negative: social withdrawal
- cognitive: tested by maze tasks
What are delusions?
Beliefs:
- that are not objectively true
- that would not be accepted as true within the persone’s culture
- that the person holds firmly in spite of contradictory evidence
What are the most common delusions?`
60-70%: delusions of reference or persecution
+/- 30%: religious or grandiosity delusions
