schizophrenia lessons 5-8 Flashcards
what is dopamine
a neurotransmitter that in high amounts increases excitation and pleasure
what is the dopamine hypothesis
SZ patients have excess levels of dopamine in areas of the brain which increases neurone firing. when drugs like phenothiazines are given to block dopamine receptors positive symptoms reduce but negative symptoms remain. L-Dopa and other drugs can increase dopamine levels
evaluation of dopamine hypothesis
ADV: Research support shows that when SZ patients were given L-Dopa their SZ symptoms got worse and intensified. very scientific evidence from PET and MRI scans which is valid and reliable
DIS: cause and effect not established as does dopamine increase SZ or does SZ increase dopamine. reductionist also
what is neural correlates
SZ may be due to structural and functional brain abnormalities. FMRI scans are used to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy people
neural correlates study by swayze
swayze reviewed 50 studies of SZ patients and examined brain using MRI. SZ patients had decreased brain weight, enlarged ventricles, smaller hypothalamus, less grey matter.
evaluation of neural correlates
DIS: Cause and effect not established. research has found that enlarged ventricles are not only found in SZ patients but also sufferers of mania.
what is the double bind theory of communication
bateson proposed disturbed patterns of communication and family dysfunction is a risk factor which can help cause SZ. Children are given conflicting messages from parents and will be nice at some times but critical at another. as a result the child gets SZ symptoms.
what is a marital schism
part of double bind theory. when parents argue in front of their children and even involve them which causes distress and confusion.
evaluation of double bind theory
ADV: psychologist found SZ patients reported a higher recall of double bind statements by their mothers than non SZ people
DIS: Bateson relied on pps memory which is retrospective and could be inaccurate. cause and effect not established
what is expressed emotion by kavanagh
negative emotional interactions might play a key role in helping to cause and maintain symptoms of SZ. family members talk to the SZ patient in a critical and hostile manner
what are three traits of expressed emotion
Criticism, hostility and emotional over involvement
evaluation of expressed emotion
ADV: psychologist found results that agree and support kavagnah in terms of EE causing SZ relapse.
DIS: cause and effect not established. Ignores biological factors that might cause SZ as the main causes tend to be biological.
what is the cognitive view of schizophrenia
frith stated symptoms of SZ might occur because individuals with SZ have issues self monitoring and inadequate information processing.
what is metarepresentation
the ability for a person to reflect on thoughts and experiences. 3 factors of metarepresentation can help explain symptoms of SZ:
1) inability to generate voluntary action
2) inability to monitor voluntary action
3) inability to monitor beliefs and intentions of others
what is research by frith
He gave SZ and healthy pps a two choice task:
Had to guess whether the next card in a deck was red or black. SZ pps did generic choices such as RRR OR BBB OR RBRB. Healthy pps did more random choices. This shows SZ patients have problems generating immediate actions
evaluation of Frith study
ADV: Cognitive approach provides reasonable account of how positive symptoms of SZ develops. experiment in lab so highly controlled and scientific
DIS: Reductionist as frith takes complicated SZ and reduces it down to three ideas of metarepresentation
what is hemsleys theory of schemas and dysfunctional thoughts
healthy people have a good combination of perception and memory but SZ patients have poor combinations of these
evaluation of hemsleys theory
ADV: research from stirling found evidence to support the idea SZ patients process information differently to normal people. They have a central control dysfunction.
DIS: not all SZ patients actually suffer from dysfunctional thoughts so the cognitive approach is limited in explaining SZ
what are typical antipsychotic drugs
chlorpromazine, phenothiazines. reduces positive symptoms and reduce dopamine in the brain by blocking dopamine receptors. drugs bind to 60% of D2 receptors and block activity
evaluation of typical anti psychotic drugs
ADV: supporting evidence from psychologist that typical anti psychotic drugs are effective in tackling symptoms of SZ. he compared chlorpromazine to a placebo o and found that the reduction in severity of symptoms were much better with the drug.
DIS: has terrible side effects such as dizziness and even tardive dyskinesia where mouth muscles make involuntary strange movements. Patients also feel as though it is like a straight jacket
what are atypical antipsychotic drugs
risperidone and clozapine. decrease dopamine activity in the brain by blocking dopamine receptors and also increase serotonin activity by binding to receptors. less side effects than typical and reduce both positive and negative symptoms
what is clozapine
atypical. given when high risk patient commits suicide. improves mood. reduces anxiety and depression
what is risperidone
atypical. as effective as clozapine but much less side effects. ingested. binds more strongly to dopamine receptors.
evaluation of atypical drugs
ADV: found to be the most effective treatment for SZ.
DIS: treats symptoms of SZ but not root cause so if patient stops taking relapse may occur. might not be ass effective for some due to individual differences
