Schizophrenia

Question 1

What is Schizophrenia?

-what 2 aspects of pathogenesis are there?

Answer 1

A group of brain disorders
characteristic distortions of thought, perception, behaviour and emotion
No pathognomic symptom

-Neurodevelopment
genetic

Question 2

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

• Positive (3)
• Negative (4)

Answer 2

-Delusions
hallucinations
thought disorder

-Apathy
lack of volition
Social withdrawal
cognitive impairment

Question 3

What is the ICD 10 criteria?

Answer 3

One of the following symptoms:
thought interference 
Passivity phenomena
hallucinatory voices giving running commentary/discussing patient/coming from part of body
impossible persistent delusions

OR two of the following:
formal thought disorder
catatonic behaviour
Negative symptoms 
Loss of interest, idleness, self absorbed attitude ,social withdrawal 

FOR AT LEAST 1 MONTH

Question 4

Schneider’s frist rank symptoms

-what are they?

Answer 4

-Auditory hallucinations with specific characteristics:
thoughts spoken aloud
running commentary
Third person voices

-Passivity phenomena:
experience that acts, impulses, volition and feelings are being imposed by an outside agency

-Delusional perception:
a real perception to which the patient attaches a delusional meaning

-Thought disorders:
Thought insertion
Thought withdrawal
thought broadcasting

Question 5

What is a delusion? (3)

-types? (4)

Answer 5

fixed belief, not amenable to logic, though or argument
did not come about through logical means and not a cultural belief

-paranoid
Grandiose
nihilistic
reference
Tend not to be mood congruent

Question 6

Hallucinations

• what is a hallucination?
• modalities? (5)

Answer 6

-perceptual experience not based on an actual object and as vivid as real perception
exists in external space and believed tone public

-auditory (most common in schizophrenia, usually third person voices)
visual (also common)
olfactory
Gustatory
Tactile

Question 7

Thought disorder

• what are they?
• give examples? (6)

Answer 7

-disruption of the thinking process

-disruption of associations
thought blocking (train of thought unexpectedly breaks off)
crowding of thoughts (thoughts feel concentrated and compressed, flight of ideas but with external control)
neologisms (made up words)

Also thought interference:
thought insertion (thought put into mind bean external agency)
thought withdrawal
thought broadcasting

Question 8

Emotional disorder

-give examples (6)

Answer 8

-blunting of affect
(lack of emotional sensitivity/connection to surroundings)

incongruent affect
(effect incongruent with circumstances)

apathy
(lack of feelings/care about things)

lack of motivation

lack of interest in relationships, being sociable

emotional blunting
(no kind of emotional tone)

Question 9

Motor and behavioural disorder

-give examples of what can occur?

Answer 9

-Catatonia (inc muscle tone at rest, abolished by voluntary activities)

stupor (unresponsive)

Mutism (no speech)

Stereotypies (non-goal directed movement)

waxy flexibility

Question 10

What indicates a poorer prognosis (6)

Answer 10

-longer duration untreated psychosis
poor pre-morbid adjustment
insidious onset
Early onset 
cognitive impairment
enlarged ventricles