Schizophrenia Flashcards
Explain ‘Positive symptoms’ of SZ
Symptoms of SZ that are additional experiences beyond those of ordinary existence
Name two positive symptoms of SZ
Hallucinations
Delusions
Describe hallucinations
Unusual sensory experiences that are either related or unrelated to what the sense are picking up
Describe delusions
Irrational beliefs
Can often be someone believing they are an important historical figure
Or that they are being persecuted
Explain negative symptoms of SZ
Symptoms that involve the loss of usual abilities
Two examples of negative symptoms
Avolition
Speech poverty
Describe Avolition
Also know as ‘apathy’, involves finding not hard to stay motivated to keep up with goal directed activities
Describe speech poverty
SZ is characterised by changes in speech patterns
Includes a delay in verbal responses in conversation
Name the two manuals used to diagnose mental health disorders such as SZ
DSM-5 (American)
IDC-10 (International)
Three points about DSM-5
Requires 2 positive symptoms
Symptoms must include failure to function adequately
Does not identify sub-types of SZ
2 points on IDC-10
- Requires two or more (positive/negative) symptoms for at least a month
- identifies 5 different sub-types (e.g. paranoid)
Define ‘co-morbidity’
When two or more conditions are present, making it hard to differentiate between the two when diagnosing
Study against reliability of DSM and ICD
Two psychiatrists independently diagnosed 100 patients using DSM and ICD - Poor inter-rater reliability - One diagnosed 26 (DSM) other 13 - One 44 (ICD) other 24
Define co-morbidity
Two conditions together - Overlap of symptoms - Questionable validity of diagnosing separately
Problem of symptom overlap?
One may be diagnosed with bipolar and another with SZ depending on criteria
Gender bias with diagnostics?
They may be better at hiding symptoms
How is it known there is a genetic link for SZ?
50% of identical twins with SZ share the condition
How was it shown SZ had a genetic basis?
108 genetic variations shown to increase risk
What is abnormally high levels of dopamine known as?
Hyperdopainergia
What did the old dopamine hypothesis suggest was the cause of SZ?
High dopamine in subcortex
How could domaine cause delusions?
Overstimulation of the auditory or visual area as a result of excess domaine could mean more attention is given to insignificant things
What does the new domaine hypothesis suggest?
Low levels of domaine in cortex
