Thought Disorder

Question 1

Thought disorder includes

Answer 1

Disturbances in the flow of thoughts
Over inclusive thinking
Concrete and abstract thinking
Disorders of control of thinking

Question 2

Disorders of the flow of thoughts include:-

Answer 2

Change in speed, circumstantiality, perseveration, Interruptions to the flow of thoughts, crowding of thought

Question 3

Perseveration

Answer 3

Interruptions to the flow of thoughts

Question 4

Interruptions to the flow of thought

Answer 4

These include thought block which is a sudden cessation in the flow of thoughts and loosening of association, which refers to a deviation towards unrelated thoughts. Loosening of association includes tangentiality, fusion, and derailment. In tangentiality the thoughts shift to vaguely related themes whereas in derailment there is no apparent connection between themes.

Question 5

Crowding of thought

Answer 5

This occurs in schizophrenia. Thoughts are described as being passively concentrated and compressed in the patient’s head. The associations are experienced as being excessive in amount, too fast, and outside the person’s control.
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Question 6

Features of depersonalisation:

Answer 6

Emotional numbness
Changes in sensory experience
Distorted sense of time
Heightened self observation

Question 7

Tics

Answer 7

involuntary, rapid, recurrent, non-rhythmic motor movement, or vocal production, that is of sudden onset and serves no apparent purpose.
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Question 8

Risk of dystonia

Answer 8

young males

• neuroleptic-naive
• high potency drugs (e.g. haloperidol)

Question 9

Risk of pseudoparkinsonism

Answer 9

• elderly females

- those with pre-existing neuro damage (e.g. stroke)

Question 10

Risk of tardive dyskinesia

Answer 10

elderly women

• those with affective illness
• those who have had EPSE early on in treatment

Question 11

Different types of dystonia

Answer 11

Torticollis - cervical muscles spasms, resulting in a twisted posturing of the neck.
Trismus - contraction of the jaw musculature and can result in lockjaw.
Opisthotonus - arched posturing of the head, trunk, and extremities.
Laryngeal dystonia - difficulty in breathing
Oculogyric crises - involuntary contraction of one or more of the extraocular muscles, which may result in a fixed gaze with diplopia

Question 12

asyndesis

Answer 12

A lack of an adequate connection between two consecutive thoughts is called asyndesis

Question 13

Overinclusive thinking

Answer 13

Overinclusive thinking is a conceptual disorder where the boundaries of concepts become over extensive

Question 14

Paraphasia

Answer 14

Paraphasia occurs when one word is substituted for another e.g. orange instead of banana. Asyndesis refers to a loss of conceptual boundaries.

Question 15

Paragramatism

Answer 15

is the inability to form grammatically correct sentences.

Question 16

metonym

Answer 16

an established word that denotes one thing but refers to a related thing, e.g. the word china can be used as the place or to refer to the crockery.
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Question 17

Gedankenlautwerden

Answer 17

Thought echo

Question 18

Prolixity

Answer 18

Prolixity refers to a marginal variety of flight of ideas seen in hypomania where clang and verbal associations are less frequent, there is a general direction of thought and it is not as rapid.

Question 19

Flight of ideas

Answer 19

In flight of ideas the speech is usually (but not always) fast. There is no general direction of thinking and the content of the speech makes as much sense if read backwards as it does forwards. Successive thoughts appear to be connected due to chance leading to clang associations, proverbs, maxims, and clich�s.

It is usually seen in mania but also occurs in schizophrenia and organic states such as those involving lesions of the hypothalamus (hence it is not pathognomic of mania).

Prolixity refers to a marginal variety of flight of ideas seen in hypomania where clang and verbal associations are less frequent, there is a general direction of thought and it is not as rapid.

Question 20

Cluttering

Answer 20

Cluttering (also called tachyphemia or tachyphrasia) is a speech and communication disorder characterized by a rapid rate of speech, erratic rhythm, and poor syntax or grammar, making speech difficult to understand.

Question 21

Which of the following terms describes a lack of connection between two consecutive thoughts?

Answer 21

Asyndesis

Question 22

Prolixity

Answer 22

Prolixity refers to a marginal variety of flight of ideas seen in hypomania where clang and verbal associations are less frequent, there is a general direction of thought and it is not as rapid.
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