Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Question 1

Many people with an autism spectrum disorder have
abnormalities in the __________, resulting in clumsiness, poor
coordination, and impaired voluntary eye movements

Answer 1

Cerebellum

Question 2

_________ is/are unjustifiable beliefs, such as “the government
is monitoring my thoughts”

Answer 2

Delusions

Question 3

Weak emotional expression, speech, and socialization are
collectively referred to as __________, which are behaviors that
are absent that should be present

Answer 3

Negative symptoms

Question 4

According to __________, prenatal or neonatal influences– genetic,
environmental, or both– produce abnormalities in the developing brain,
which may either cause schizophrenia or leave the brain vulnerable to
other disturbances at critical periods in development

Answer 4

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis

Question 5

_________ are false sensory experiences, such as hearing
voices or seeing others when alone.

Answer 5

Hallucinations

Question 6

One potential finding related to the causes of schizophrenia is the
tendency for people born in winter to have a slightly greater
probability of developing schizophrenia than people born at other
times of the year. This is known as:

Answer 6

The season-of-birth effect

Question 7

Living in a crowded city or the presence of a childhood infection
with certain parasites that reproduce in cats are:

Answer 7

Intermediate risk factors for schizophrenia

Question 8

In the 1950s, psychiatrists discovered that __________ relieves
the positive symptoms of schizophrenia for most, though not all,
patients

Answer 8

Thorazine

Question 9

The more closely you are biologically related to someone with
schizophrenia, the greater your own probability of schizophrenia. One
of the most important points is that identical twins have a higher
__________ for schizophrenia than fraternal twins.

Answer 9

Concordance rate

Question 10

Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized
behavior are all collectively referred to as __________, meaning
behaviors that are present that should be absent

Answer 10

Positive symptoms

Question 11

The drugs that are most effective against schizophrenia (and
therefore used in the smallest doses) are the most effective at
blocking:

Answer 11

Dopamine synapses

Question 12

Impairments of thought or reasoning are referred to as
__________. Other examples include memory impairments and
the fact that people with schizophrenia often have difficulty
understanding and using abstract concepts.

Answer 12

Cognitive symptoms

Question 13

__________ can contribute to the development of an autism
spectrum disorder. For example, the risk of autism increases if
the mother is exposed to large amounts of pesticides, solvents,
perfumes, or air pollutants during pregnancy.

Answer 13

Prenatal environment

Question 14

The dopamine hypothesis….

Answer 14

Suggests that schizophrenia results from excess activity at
dopamine synapses in certain brain areas

Question 15

The risk of schizophrenia is mildly elevated among people who had
problems that could have impaired their brain development, including
poor nutrition of the mother during pregnancy, premature birth or low
birth weight, and complications during delivery. These are:

Answer 15

Low risk factors for schizophrenia

Question 16

The dopamine hypothesis is, incomplete, because about 1/3
of all patients fail to respond to the drugs that block dopamine.
According to __________, the problem relates in part to deficient
activity at glutamate synapses in the prefrontal cortex.

Answer 16

The glutamate hypothesis states this

Question 17

Drugs that block dopamine synapses produce their benefits by
acting on neurons in the __________, neurons that project from
the midbrain to the limbic system and prefrontal cortex

Answer 17

Mesolimbocortical system

Question 18

This symptom of schizophrenia is rambling or incoherent in
nature. It is often described as “word salad” and reflects
disorganized thoughts

Answer 18

Disorganized speech

Question 19

Many (but not all) people with schizophrenia show mild, variable
__________, including less than average gray matter, especially in the
hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus. White matter is also
sometimes reduced, and the ventricles may be enlarged

Answer 19

Brain abnormalities

Question 20

Most patients with schizophrenia show deficits of memory and
attention like those of people with damage to

Answer 20

The temporal or prefrontal cortex

Question 21

Although the concentration of dopamine in the brain is usually no
higher than normal in those with schizophrenia, dopamine
release is increased in the __________, especially in response to
stressful events

Answer 21

Basal ganglia

Question 22

The effect of blocking dopamine neurons in the basal ganglia
produces __________, characterized by tremors and involuntary
movements that develop gradually and to varying degrees
among patients

Answer 22

Tardive dyskinesia

Question 23

The brain areas with consistent signs of abnormality in those with
schizophrenia include some that mature slowly, such as

Answer 23

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 24

At one year of age, the average head size for children with an
autism spectrum disorder is approximately 10% greater than
average. For the next several years, much of this brain region is
larger than average among these children

Answer 24

Cerebral cortex