Schizophrenia x Flashcards
What did Juckel et al 2006 find in their study into the ventral striatum ?
They found that lower levels in this area (ventral striatum) in people with schizophrenia compared to a control group. There is a negative correlation with level of activity and this type of symptom.
What topic does the Juckel et al 2006 study relate to ?
Schizophrenia - Ventral striatum - neural correlates - dopamine hypothesis.
What did Allen et al find in their study into the superior temporal gyrus and the anterior cingulate gyrus ?
They found low levels of activity in these areas for sufferers experiencing particular symptoms when they had to judge a pre - recorded message as being themselves or someone else compared to controls. They also made more errors in their judgements.
What topic does the Allen et al 2006 study relate to ?
schizophrenia - superior temporal gyrus and the anterior cingulate gyrus - neural correlates - Dopamine hypothesis.
what are the psychological explanations for schizophrenia ?
Family dysfunction -
- schizophrenogenic mother
- double bind theory
- expressed emotion
What is the schizophrenogenic mother’s typical traits ?
cold
dominant
created conflict
rejecting
overprotective
self - sacrificing
moralistic about sex and fear of intimacy.
What is double bind theory ?
The children are ‘punished’ for doing what was asked (giving a hug, then being pushed away) and then punished again when the parent gives no reason for pushing them away.
This theory suggests that children will become confused and lose their grip on reality. Negative symptoms of social withdrawal and flat effect may be an effect may be an appropriate and logical response to double bind situations.
What research supports the double bind theory ?
Bateson (1904 - 1980) was a British anthropologist and social scientist and was one of the first researchers to look at the family dynamic of those people suffering from schizophrenia.
Berger
(1965) found that
schizophrenics reported a
higher recall of
double-bind statements by
their mothers than
non-schizophrenics.
What did Berger find ?
Berger
(1965) found that
schizophrenics reported a
higher recall of
double-bind statements by
their mothers than
non-schizophrenics.
What did Liam (1994) and Hall and Levin (1980) find ?
found no
difference in the patterns
of parental communication
in families with a
schizophrenic child in
comparison to normal
families.
What is Expressed emotion ?
Risk of RELAPSE. !!!
High EE is a family communication style that
involves:
Critical comments through both tone and content,
occasionally accompanied by violence
Hostility towards the patient, including anger and
rejection
Emotional over-involvement in the life of the patient,
including needless self-sacrifice
If these factors are high, then the risk of a
relapse is high.
What is the supporting evidence for Family dysfunction ?
Brown (1966)
Expressed emotion (EE): families where
communications are commonly to do with criticism,
hostility and disapproval are said to have high EE
People recovering from schizophrenia and
discharged from hospital were followed up over a
9-month period.
Interviews with family members were conducted to
determine the level of expressed emotion.
The three types of psychological treatment for schizophrenia ?
CBT, Family therapy, and token economies.
What is the definition of CBT
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY!
Aims to deal with thinking, such as
challenging thoughts. Includes
behavioural techniques.
What is the typical frequency for CBT as a psychological treatment for schizophrenia?
5-20 sessions
What is the definition of family therapy as a psychological treatment for schizophrenia ?
Carried out with some or all of the
family. Improve communication and
reduce stress. Aims to reduce levels of
EE.
What is the definition of token economies as a psychological treatment for schizophrenia?
Behavioural therapy. Desirable
behaviours are encouraged through
selective reinforcement.
What is the typical frequency for token economies as a psychological treatment for schizophrenia ?
Secondary reinforcer = token
based off of desirable
behaviour.
Tokens then exchanged for a
treat.
How does CBT help as a psychological treatment for schizophrenia ?
Helps to make sense of how delusions and
hallucinations impact their feelings and
behaviour
Understanding where symptoms came from
can be helpful
E.g. believing voices are demons – helped to
understand the existence of hallucinations can
help to reduce anxiety.
What study helped to demonstrate how CBT helps patients suffering from schizophrenia ?
Turkington et al (2004) describe an example of CBT used
to challenge paranoid delusions:
Patient: The mafia are observing me to decide how to kill
me
Therapist: You are obviously very frightened…there must
be good reason for this
Patient: Do you think it’s the mafia?
Therapist: It’s a possibility, but there could be other
explanations. How do you know it’s the mafia?
What is Meehl’s model ?
Believed diathesis was entirely genetic, the
result of a single ‘schizogene’
This led to the development of a biologically
based schizotypic personality, one
characteristic is sensitivity to stress
According to Meehl, if a person doesn’t
have the schizogene then no amount of
stress would lead to sz. However, in
carriers of the gene, chronic stress through
childhood and adolescence, particularly a
schizophrenic mother could result in sz.
What did Read (2001) do / find ?
Read (2001) proposed a neurodevelopmental model in
which early development in which early trauma alters
the developing brain. E.g. The
hypothalamic-pituatry-adrenal system (HPA) becomes
over-active and the person is more vulnerable to later
stress.
What did tienari (2004) do / find / conclude ?
Tienari (2004) investigated combination of genetic vulnerability and
parenting style (the trigger). Children adopted from 19,000 Finnish
mothers with sz between 1960-1979 followed up.
Adoptive parents assessed for child-rearing style & rates of sz were
compared to those in a control group of adoptees without any
genetic risk.
A child-rearing style of high levels of criticism and conflict and low
levels of empathy was implicated in the development of sz but only
for the children with high genetic risk but not in the control group.
This suggests that both genetic vulnerability and family stress are
important in development of sz – genetically vulnerable children are
more sensitive to parenting behaviour.
What did Houston (2008) do / find/ conclude ?
Houston (2008) childhood sexual trauma emerged as a
vulnerability factor whilst cannabis was a trigger. This shows
the old idea of diathesis as biological and stress as
psychological is over-simple. This is a problem for the old idea
of diathesis-stress but not for newer models.
What is Tarrier (2004) ?
315 patients were
randomly allocated to a medication +
CBT group, medication + supportive
counselling or a control group
Patients in the two combination
groups showed lower symptom levels
than control, although there were no
difference in rates of hospital
readmission
This and other studies show there is
clear advantage to adopting an
interactionist approach.
