Week 13: Psychopathology

Question 1

Walter Cannon

Answer 1

Fight or flight response is a physiological response to an acute threat (disturbance in homeostasis)

Question 2

Hans Selye

Answer 2

“Stress” is a non-specific physiological response to demand made on the organism

Question 3

General Adaptation Syndrome

Answer 3

• Alarm
• Resistance
• Exhaustion

Question 4

Bruce McEwen

Answer 4

Allostatic Load is the wear and tear of the organism due to repeated allostasis

Question 5

Allostatic Load Index

Answer 5

*Neuroendocrine system (e.g., NE/E, cortisol)
*Cardiovascular system (e.g., blood pressure)
*Metabolic system (e.g., glucose, lipids)
*Immune system (e.g., C-reactive protein (CRP), interlukin-6(IL-6))

Question 6

Chronic Stress is associated with:

Answer 6

*Cardiovascular disease
*Metabolic disorders (e.g.,diabetes)
*Depression
*Anxiety
*Cognitive impairment
*Accelerated biological aging

Question 7

Schizophrenia

Answer 7

*Originally called Dementia Praecox (“premature dementia”
*Schizophrenia(“splitting of mind”), a split between the emotional and intellectual aspects of experience

Question 8

Schizophrenia Positive symptoms

Answer 8

◼Disorganized speech
◼Disorganized behavior
◼Hallucinations
◼Delusions

Question 9

Schizophrenia Negative symptoms

Answer 9

◼Flattened affect and /or anhedonia
◼Speech minimized
◼Lack of motivation
◼Social withdrawal

Question 10

Schizophrenia Cognitive symptoms

Answer 10

◼Poor sustained attention
◼Low psychomotor speed /catatonia
◼Poor learning and memory
◼Poor abstract thinking and problem solving

Question 11

Schizophrenia symptoms: complex syndrome

Answer 11

◼Psychosis
◼Emotional/Affective Symptoms
◼Motivational impairment
◼Cognitive impairment

Question 12

Schizophrenia: Etiological theories

Answer 12

1. Genetic theories
2. Neurodevelopment hypotheses
3. Dopamine-Glutamate hypothesis

Question 13

Schizophrenia: Genetic Theories

Answer 13

◼Twin studies
◼Adoption studies
◼Gene mutation

Question 14

Schizophrenia: Neurodevelopment hypotheses

Answer 14

◼Seasonal effects
◼Neurology of Schizophrenia

Question 15

Schizophrenic Gene Mutations: DISC1

Answer 15

▪Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1)
▪DISC1 protein is important for neurodevelopment
▪Human studies:
▪High prevalence of “broken copy” in large Scottish
family over 5 generations -development of
schizophrenia, bipolar & other mood disorders
▪Meta-analysis confirmed overall association and
found strongest estimate in Chinese population

▪Animal studies:
▪Mutant mice with no DICS1 in brain stem cells show
behaviors that mimic schizophrenia
▪Down regulation of DISC1 in dentate gyrus leads to
schizo-typo behaviors
▪Transgenic mice expressing DISC1 mutation display
enlarged lateral ventricles

Question 16

Schizophrenic Gene Mutations: NRG1

Answer 16

◼Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) protein important for neurodevelopment
◼Association studies:
◼Icelandic population –NRG1risk allele doubles the
risk of schizophrenia
◼Extended to Scottish, Swedish and Chinese
populations
◼NRG1also associated with bipolard disorder and creativity, independent of schizotypal traits

Question 17

Schizophrenic Gene mutations: Recent popular hypothesis

Answer 17

• not just one gene, but new mutations in any one of hundreds of genes

◼Microdeletions and microduplications
◼Found in 15% schizophrenia patients; 20% if onset before 18 years. Compared to 5% in control group.
◼Not random, but selective for genes that are important for production of proteins involved in neurodevelopment and cognitive function.

Question 18

Schizophrenia: Neurodevelopmental Hypothesis

Answer 18

suggests abnormalities in the neonatal development of the nervous system leads to mild abnormalities of brain anatomy and major abnormalities in behavior

Question 19

Schizophrenia Risk Factors

Answer 19

◼Poor nutrition of the mother during pregnancy
◼Premature birth
◼Low birth weight
◼Complications during delivery
◼Extreme stress of mother during pregnancy
◼Immunological rejection e.g., Rhesus factor(Rh) incompatible
◼Other infections during pregnancy (Toxoplasma gondii)
- Postnatal stressors

Question 20

Schizophrenia Brain abnormalities

Answer 20

◼Enlarged lateral ventricle and prominent sulci
◼Decreased tissue cerebral gray matter
◼Smaller cell bodies in PFC and hippocampus
◼Reduced cortical connectivity and activity
◼Glial reductions (glial theory) : oligodendrocytes and myelin integrity (DISC1); altered microglia in temporal and frontal lobes; astrocyte glutamate transporters in PFC
◼Brain “insults” may not be apparent until later

Question 21

Schizophrenia Dopamine Hypothesis

Answer 21

◼positive symptoms are caused by over-activity of synapses between DA neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbensand amygdala (Mesolimbic)