Schizophrenia - Explanations

Question 1

what genes can help cause schizophrenia?

Answer 1

dopamine receptor genes (D2)

glutamate receptor genes (AMPA)

Question 2

what are the 3 types of studies into genetic factors in developing schizophrenia?

Answer 2

family

twin

adoption

Question 3

describe a family study into developing schizophrenia?

Answer 3

concordance rates investigated in children with SZ parents or siblings - combination of biological and environmental factors

Question 4

what was the results for the family study into developing SZ?

Answer 4

2x SZ parents - 46% concordance rate

1x SZ parent - 13% concordance rate

1x SZ sibling - 9% concordance rate

Question 5

describe a twin study into developing SZ?

Answer 5

meta analysis on identical vs non-identical concordance rates for SZ

Question 6

what was the results for the twin study into developing SZ?

Answer 6

identical - 40%

non-identical - 7%

Question 7

what is an issue with the twin study into developing SZ?

Answer 7

many studies knew the a twin had SZ - investigator bias

Question 8

describe an adoption study into developing SZ?

Answer 8

compared adoptees with SZ biological mother vs non-SZ bio mother

Question 9

what were the results from the adoption study into developing SZ?

Answer 9

6.7% with SZ mothers developed SZ
2% without developed SZ

Question 10

what is the dopamine hypothesis?

Answer 10

SZ caused by imbalances of dopamine:

hyperdopaminergia in mesolimbic pathway

hypodopaminergia in prefrontal cortex

Question 11

describe how the dopamine hypothesis explains positive and negative symptoms

Answer 11

hyperdopaminergia in mesolimbic pathway causes positive symptoms, but uses up all the dopamine so by the time it reaches the prefrontal cortex there is too little dopamine - causing negative symptoms

Question 12

what are some advantages of the dopamine hypothesis?

Answer 12

research support - tienari adoption study, grilly study (patients with wrong dosages)

ecological validity/applications - drug therapies

Question 13

what are some disadvantages of the dopamine hypothesis?

Answer 13

biologically reductionist - ignores environmental triggers - thought that it is a result of diathesis stress not just biology

drug therapies based off dopamine hypothesis doesn’t help 1/3 patients

correlation vs causation

Question 14

describe the grilly 2002 study

Answer 14

parkinsons patients with wrong dosage of drug developed SZ symptoms

all drug does in increase dopamine, so therefore dopamine causes SZ symptoms

Question 15

who suggested the dopamine hypothesis?

Answer 15

davis + khan

Question 16

what are the psychological explanations of schizophrenia?

Answer 16

double bind theory

expressed emotion

Question 17

what is the double-bind theory?

Answer 17

says contradictory messages from parents can cause children to become schizophrenic as they cannot form construct coherent reality

eg mother saying she loves you while hitting you

Question 18

what is the expressed emotion theory?

Answer 18

families with high emotional expression and hostility can trigger schizophrenia in people vulnerable to it

Question 19

what research supports the expressed emotion theory?

Answer 19

expressed emotion in friends/family strongly correlated with relapse rates

these families describe SZ relatives in hostile terms

found that negative emotions can trigger SZ episodes, supportive families can help prevent

Question 20

what is the cognitive explanation for delusions?

Answer 20

inadequate information processing

leads to egocentric bias

leads to failure to contextualise events

patients unable to perform ‘reality testing’

Question 21

what is the cognitive explanation for hallucinations?

Answer 21

hypervigilance

higher expectancy of voices

can’t distinguish between sensory info and internal images

missatribute source of internal images to external sources

failure to reality check properly so don’t see disconfirming evidence

Question 22

how does the biological explanation link to the cognitive explanation of delusions and hallucinations?

Answer 22

cognitive processing bias - hyperdopaminergia in/around mesolimbic pathway

misattribution of consequences to causes - hypodopaminergia in prefrontal cortex and ACC

failure to test reality - DLPFC and hippocampus links to atrophy or dysfunction

Question 23

define dyfunctional thought processing

Answer 23

cognitive habits / beliefs that cause an individual to evaluate information inappropriately and produce undesirable consequences

Question 24

what are the advantages of the family dysfunction explanations?

Answer 24

supports diathesis-stress, supported by Tienari

high correlation between EE households and relapses

Question 25

what are the disadvantages of the family dysfunction theories?

Answer 25

not all patients that live in EE households relapse - determinist - ignoring individual differences with stress responses