Schizophrenia

Question 1

Schizophrenia

Answer 1

unusual array of symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thought, depression, flat affect, catatonic state, and changes in memory

Question 2

Positive Symptoms

Answer 2

abnormal behaviors gained

incoherent thought, rhyming, echolalia, hallucinations, hyperactivity

Question 3

Negative Symptoms

Answer 3

loss of normal functions

catatonic stupors, poverty of speech, flat affect, social withdrawal

Question 4

stages of illness

Answer 4

Premorbid Phase
Prodromal Phase
Syndromal Phase
Chronic Phase

Question 5

Premorbid Phase

Answer 5

Early life experiencing cognitive emotional and behavioral deviation in childhood

Question 6

Prodromal

Answer 6

period during which behavior and function deteriorates immediately before onset of psychosis

Question 7

Syndromal

Answer 7

Deterioration into psychotic symptoms

Question 8

Chronic

Answer 8

all symptoms present

Question 9

Genetic Component

Answer 9

Identical twins: 50%

Fraternal twins: 17%

Question 10

Working Memory Test

Answer 10

Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST)

Schizo patients perform poorly on this test

Question 11

Thought Disorder Test

Answer 11

Measured through thought disorder index (TDI)

Question 12

P50 Suppression

Answer 12

Auditory test, testing patients ability to screen out stimuli and focus on salient aspects of environment

Question 13

Pre-pulse inhibition startle response

Answer 13

Measures deficit in information gating/processing

Question 14

Neurodevelopment Onset

Answer 14

Perinatal insult disrupts normal maturation of brain. Onset of symptoms triggered by interaction between initial defat and neuronal maturation

Question 15

Neurodegenerative Onset

Answer 15

Cognitive/behavioral disturbance sin childhood amplified in adolescence and prominent just before/after first psychotic episode

Question 16

Brain Alterations

Answer 16

Enlarged ventricles
Decrease in hippocampus and amygdala volume
Frontal Cortex volume decreased

Question 17

Hypofrontality Onset

Answer 17

Reduced metabolic activity in frontal lobes leads to schizophrenia

Question 18

DISC1 Gene

Answer 18

Regulates coin dynamics, spine maintenance, and synapse stabilization
DISC1 knockout mice have enlarged ventricles

Question 19

Major Histocompatatbility Complex

Answer 19

contains genes involving immunity
Strongest risk of schizophrenia was associated with loci near the C4 gene
Higher levels of CHA expression leads to greater risk of schizo

Question 20

C4 Gene

Answer 20

plays key role in pruning synapses
explains why schizo patients tend to have thinner cortex
Increased pruning during adolescence explains onset of disease

Question 21

Dopamine Hypothesis

Answer 21

Excessive dopamine causes schizo symptoms
Antipsychotics that block D2 receptors reduced positive symptoms
Over stimulation of D2 receptors lead to positive symptoms

Question 22

Glutamate Hypothesis

Answer 22

PCP and Ketamine which block NMDA receptors induce schizo symptoms

Question 23

Causes of Schizophrenia

Answer 23

Family History
CNS Damage
Prenatal bereavement 
Rubella Infection
CNS infection

Question 24

Sex Differences

Answer 24

Men are 1.5x more likely to develop

Age of onset earlier for men