Thought disorders Flashcards
What is circumstantiality?
Inability to answer question without giving excessive, unnecessary detail
Topic does eventually return to original point
What is tangentiality?
Wandering from a topic without returning to it
What are neologisms?
New word formations inc. combination of new words
What are clang associations?
When ideas are related to each other only by the fact they sound similar or rhyme
What is word salad?
Completely incoherent speech where real words are strung together into nonsense sentences
What is knight’s move thinking?
Severe type of loosening of associations
Unexpected and illogical leaps from one idea to the other
Feature of schizophrenia
What is flight of ideas?
Feature of mania
Thought disorder
Leaps from one topic to another
Discernible links between them
What is perseveration?
Repetition of ideas or words despite an attempt to change the topic
What is echolalia?
Repetition of someone else’s speech, including the question that was asked
What are the three ways thought stream can be disordered?
Acceleration (pressured thought / flight of ideas)
Retardation
Thought blocking
What thought stream disorder is often seen in mania?
Flight of ideas
What thought stream disorder is often seen in depressive illness?
Retardation (slow speed of thinking)
What thought form disorder is most often seen in dementia?
Perseveration
What thought stream disorder is most often seen in schizophrenia?
Thought blocking
What are four ways thought form can be disordered?
Loosening of association: (1) derailment of thought (knight’s move thinking), (2) tangential thinking, (3) Word salad
Circumstantiality
Neologisms
Perseveration
What thought form disorder is most often seen in schizophrenia and autism?
Neologisms (words and phrases devised by patient or new meaning to existing words)
What thought form disorder is most often seen in obsessional personalities and learning disabilities?
Circumstantiality
What are the three ways thought content can be disordered?
Delusions
Obsessional thoughts
Preoccupations / overvalued ideas
What is the definition of a delusion?
Fixed false beliefs which are firmly held despite evidence to the contrary and go against the individual’s normal social / cultural belief system
What is the definition of an obsessional thought?
Distressing thoughts that enter the mind despite the patient’s effort to resist them
What thought content disorder is most commonly seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Obsessional thoughts
What is the definition of a preoccupation / overvalued idea?
Strongly held beliefs
Can be put out of the mind with effort
What disorders are preoccupations / overvalued ideas commonly seen in?
Depressive disorders
Anxiety disorders
Eating disorders
Sexual disorders
What are the 4 classifications used for delusions?
Cause (primary / secondary)
Mood (congruent / incongruent)
Plausability (bizarre / non-bizarre)
Content (e.g. grandiose, persecutory, reference etc.)
What is the definition of a grandiose delusion?
Special powers, talented, wealthy, important, chosen by god
What is the definition of a persecutory delusion?
Other people are conspiring against them in order to inflict harm / destroy reputation
What is the definition of a reference delusion?
Random events, objects or behaviour of others have special significance / impact to oneself
What is the definition of a guilt delusion?
One has done something sinful or shameful
What is the definition of a hypochondriacal delusion?
One has a medical illness despite sound medical evidence to the contrary
What is the definition of De Clerambault’s syndrome?
Person of high status / power is in love with them
Paranoid delusion that is amorous in nature
Usually seen in women
What is the definition of Othello syndrome?
Spouse / sexual partner is being unfaithful without evidence to support claim
What is the definition of Capgras’ syndrome?
Familiar person / place has been replaced with exact duplicate
What is the definition of a nihilistic delusion?
Worthless or dying
Sev cases: everything is non-existent inc. themselves
What is the definition of an infestation delusion?
One is infested by small organisms
What is the definition of a folie a deux delusion?
A rare syndrome in which a delusional belief is shared between two people
Often between two people from the same family
What is the definition of a delusional memory?
Where a delusional belief is based on a memory / false memory
e.g. a man recalls a woman giggling in a cafe a week ago and now realises she knew that he was infested by small organisms
