SCZ Flashcards
SCZ and psychotic disorders exist _____
along a spectrum of severity with
Positive symptoms meaning
gain of function
Positive symptoms examples
Delusions Hallucinations Disorganized speech Grossly disorganized or catatonic motor behaviour
Negative symptoms meaning
loss of function
Negative symptoms examples
Avolition
Social deficits
Flattened affect
Cognitive deficits
presence of ____ symptoms makes SCZ unique
Positive symptoms; most mental disorders primarily are loss of function (have negative features)
Spectrum of SCZ and psychosis (from least to most severe)
Scizotypal personality disorder –> delusional disorder –> brief psychotc disorder –> schizophreniform disorder –> SCZ –> schizoaffective disorder
T/F scz stays the same throughout life
FALSE
Schizophrenia is a persistent, progressive disorder (negative symptoms)
with periodic relapse into psychosis (positive symptoms)
Lifetime prevalence
1%
The societal cost of SCZ (heavy use of resources due to:)
- Schizophrenic patients may account for
up to 50% of repeat hospital
admissions* and 25% of inpatient beds - Vastly overrepresented in prison and
homeless populations - high suicidality
- 50% co-morbid with substance abuse
- psychiatric comorbidities–mood and anxiety disorders
- decreased life expectancy (of 10-25 years)
Co-morbidities with SCZ
- high suicidality
- 50% co-morbid with substance abuse
- psychiatric comorbidities–mood and anxiety disorders
Neuroleptic development: first antipsychotic
Chlorpromazine
Chlorpromazine
1at antipsychotic developed in 1950 as an anti‐histamine and sedative
◦ First synthesis Dec 1950 –> human use in 1951–> Licensed to Smith Kline & French (GSK) 1953
Neuroleptic drug definition
Drugs affecting pathological behaviour
Societal/medical effect of Chlorpromazine (CPZ)
- Contributed directly to medicalization of mental illness
- Recognition of mental illness as a consequence of an underlying biological
deficit
Chlorpromazine actions–main systems
Anti‐cholinergic
Anti‐histaminergic
Anti‐adrenergic
Anti‐dopaminergic
Chlorpromazine side effects
Anticholinergic: Dry‐mouth, blurred vision,
constipation, weight gain
Anti-histaminergic: sedative, anti-emetic
ANti-adrenergic: Lowered blood pressure,
tachycardia, vertigo, incontinence,
sexual dysfunction
Anti-dopaminergic: actual antipsychotic effects (reduce positive symptoms), extrapyramidal side effects and hyperprolactinemia
Main effects of CPZ (bolded)
Weight gain (anti-cholinergic) Sedation (anti-histaminergic) Antipsychotic effects (anti-DA) Extrapyramidal effects (anti-DA) Hyperprolactinaemia (anti-DA)
The Dopamine hypothesis
SCHIZOPHRENIA RESULTS FROM EXCESSIVE DOPAMINERGIC ACTIVITY SPECIFICALLY IN THE MESOLIMBIC PATHWAY.
this theory arose from CPZ ‘s efficacy
Mesolimbic dopamine is
proposed to mediate _____
SALIENCE
Motivational salience –addictions
Sensory salience – sensory gating
Too much dopamine on the mesolimbic pathway causes SCZ due to…
Excess dopamine activity leads the patient to perceive voices, sounds, and imagery
as inappropriately salient
Excess da –> ___ salience –> interpreted as ___ & ____
increased salience; interpreted as delusions and hallucinations
i.e. False significance assigned to internal and external stimuli are interpreted as delusions and hallucinations
Issues with the DA hypothesis
Dopamine is hyperactive in the mesolimbic but hypoactive in the cortex
◦ Presynaptic changes in dopamine synthesis
◦ Expect common changes in both mesolimbic and mesocorticolimbic pathways
◦ Postsynaptic targets of antipsychotics
Causality of dopaminergic changes is unclear!!
Lack of clear evidence for dopaminergic neuropathology in SCZ
Dopamine correlates well with positive symptoms (i.e. psychosis) BUT Poor correlation with negative symptoms
DA drugs have limited effects on ___ symptoms
Negative; which are usually the most debilitating
Dopamine hypothesis 2.0
SCHIZOPHRENIA RESULTS FROM A COMBINATION OF SUBCORTICAL DOPAMINERGIC HYPERACTIVITY AND CORTICAL DOPAMINE HYPOACTIVITY.
Dopamine hypothesis 3.0
Schizophrenia results from combined genetic and environmental insult resulting in altered neurodevelopment, including subcortical dopaminergic hyperactivity and psychosis.