Schizophrenia Flashcards
Define schizophrenia?
A severe mental illness where reality is impaired.
How is mental illness classified?
Using ICD-10 and DSM-5:
- organising symptoms into categories where the symptoms are found together in sufferers.
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Additional experiences beyond those of ordinary existence.
What are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
1) . Hallucinations.
2) . Delusions.
What are hallucinations?
Sensory experiences that have no basis in reality or aren’t real.
What are the different types of hallucinations?
1). Visual =
see things that aren’t there.
2). Auditory =
hear things that aren’t real (e.g. a critical voice).
3). Olfactory =
smelling things that aren’t there.
4). Tactile =
feeling things that aren’t there (e.g. touching silk but it feels like fire).
What are delusions?
Beliefs with no basis in reality (irrational beliefs).
What are the common delusions?
- Historical.
- Political.
- Religious figures (grandeur).
- Persecuted by government or aliens.
- Feeling like people can hear their thoughts.
- Irrational thoughts = may do things that seem normal to them but bizarre to others.
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Loss of usual abilities/experiences.
What are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
1). Avolition =
Finding it difficult to set and maintain goals.
2). Alogia (speech poverty) =
reduction in amount and quality of speech.
3). Catatonic =
Inability to move.
4). Affective flattening =
hard to express emotions.
How is schizophrenia diagnosed and classified?
- ICD-10 =
- 2+ negative symptoms have to be present for diagnosis.
- Recognises subtypes of schizophrenia (e.g. paranoia, hebephrenic). - DSM-5 =
- 1 positive symptom has to be present for diagnosis.
- Doesn’t recognise subtypes of schizophrenia.
What are the evaluations of the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia?
:( Low reliability in the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
:( Low validity in the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
:( Co-morbidity.
:( Gender bias in diagnosis.
:( Cultural bias in diagnosis.
How is there low reliability in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
Cheniaux et al. (2009) =
Research on 100 patients and shown psychiatrists couldn’t agree on diagnosis with both DSM-5 and ICD-10.
How is reliability improved in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
Inter-rather reliability =
2+ psychiatrists need to agree on the same diagnosis on patients - considering schizophrenia is a life changing diagnosis.
How is there low validity in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
Cheniaux’s study shows schizophrenia is more likely to be diagnosed using ICD than DSM.
- Either being over-diagnosed with ICD or under-diagnosed with DSM.
How is schizophrenia often co-morbid?
Buckley et al. (2009) concluded =
- 50% also diagnosed with depression.
- 47% substance abuse.
- 29% PTSD.
It may be that severe depression and schizophrenia, for example, are a single condition - hard to tell if they are symptoms for schizophrenia or depression.
How is there gender bias in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
1) . Longenecker et al. (2010) = reviewed studies of the prevalence of schizophrenia, and concluded that:
- Since the 1980s, men are diagnosed more than women.
2) . Cotton et al. (2009) = found women can hide symptoms more than men:
- Better interpersonal functioning skills.
How is the cultural bias in the diagnosis of schizophrenia?
African origin people are more likely to be diagnosed in the UK, but not in Africa, this is because;
- In Africa, hearing voices are deemed normal, but schizophrenic in the UK.
- Validity issues = suggesting some people from certain cultural backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed due to bias.
What are the biological explanations for schizophrenia?
1) . Genetic basis.
2) . Dopamine hypothesis.
3) . Neural correlates.
What is the genetic basis of schizophrenia?
1) . Schizophrenia runs in the family.
2) . Schizophrenia is polygenetic and aetiologically heterogenous.
How does schizophrenia run in the family?
Gottesman (1991) =
- MZ = 48% concordance rate.
- DZ = 17% concordance rate.
- Siblings = 9% concordance rate.
What is the concordance rate of MZ and DZ twins
- MZ = 100%.
- DZ = 50%.
How is schizophrenia polygenetic and aetiologically heterogenous?
- Polygenetic = each individual candidate gene increases the risk of schizophrenia.
- Aetiologically heterogenous = different combinations of candidate genes can lead to schizophrenia.
What did Ripke et al. (2014) find about candidate genes of schizophrenia?
Studied 37,000 patients and found 108 separate genetic variations (combinations of candidate genes) associated with increased risk; many affecting dopamine.
