Schizophrenia_Features_Flashcards
What are Schneider’s first rank symptoms in schizophrenia?
Schneider’s first rank symptoms in schizophrenia include auditory hallucinations, thought disorders, passivity phenomena, and delusional perceptions.
What are the types of auditory hallucinations associated with schizophrenia?
The types of auditory hallucinations associated with schizophrenia are two or more voices discussing the patient in the third person, thought echo, and voices commenting on the patient’s behaviour.
What are the thought disorders associated with schizophrenia?
The thought disorders associated with schizophrenia are thought insertion, thought withdrawal, and thought broadcasting.
What are passivity phenomena in schizophrenia?
Passivity phenomena in schizophrenia include bodily sensations being controlled by external influence and actions/impulses/feelings being imposed on the individual or influenced by others.
What is a delusional perception in schizophrenia?
A delusional perception in schizophrenia is a two-stage process where a normal object is perceived and then there is a sudden intense delusional insight into the object’s meaning for the patient.
What are some other features of schizophrenia?
Other features of schizophrenia include impaired insight, negative symptoms, incongruity/blunting of affect, anhedonia, alogia, avolition, social withdrawal, neologisms, and catatonia.
What are negative symptoms in schizophrenia?
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia include incongruity/blunting of affect, anhedonia, alogia, avolition, and social withdrawal.
What is anhedonia?
Anhedonia is the inability to derive pleasure.
What is alogia?
Alogia is poverty of speech.
What is avolition?
Avolition is poor motivation.
What is catatonia?
Catatonia is a state of psychomotor disturbance that can include motor immobility, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, mutism, peculiar voluntary movements, and echolalia or echopraxia.
summarise schizophrenia features
Schizophrenia: features
Schneider’s first rank symptoms may be divided into auditory hallucinations, thought disorders, passivity phenomena and delusional perceptions:
Auditory hallucinations of a specific type:
two or more voices discussing the patient in the third person
thought echo
voices commenting on the patient’s behaviour
Thought disorders
thought insertion
thought withdrawal
thought broadcasting
Passivity phenomena:
bodily sensations being controlled by external influence
actions/impulses/feelings - experiences which are imposed on the individual or influenced by others
Delusional perceptions
a two stage process) where first a normal object is perceived then secondly there is a sudden intense delusional insight into the objects meaning for the patient e.g. ‘The traffic light is green therefore I am the King’.
Other features of schizophrenia include
impaired insight
negative symptoms
incongruity/blunting of affect
anhedonia (inability to derive pleasure)
alogia (poverty of speech)
avolition (poor motivation)
social withdrawal
neologisms: made-up words
catatonia
You are asked to visit a 81-year-old lady, who lives in a care home. Upon arrival, this lady is stood in the corner of the room, stooped over, so her head is at the level of her knees, and her arms are reaching upwards.
Her current medications include ramipril, simvastatin, metformin, risperidone and lansoprazole.
What would you describe her presentation as?
Rhabdomyolysis
Tardive dyskinesia
Passivity of body
Catatonia
Oculogyric crisis
Catatonia
Stopping of voluntary movement or staying still in an unusual position = catatonia
This lady has a rare subtype of schizophrenic: catatonic schizophrenia. Catatonia is a psychomotor disorder classically, but not always, due to schizophrenia. The clue here is her medication history, risperidone is a second-generation antipsychotic.
Schizophrenia: prognostic indicators
Factors associated with poor prognosis
Schizophrenia: prognostic indicators
Factors associated with poor prognosis
strong family history
gradual onset
low IQ
prodromal phase of social withdrawal
lack of obvious precipitant
