Week 2.2.1: Recognising the Self Flashcards
Perceptions without external stimuli.
Ex. Imagine hearing someone call your name when no one is around.
Hallucinations
Strongly held false beliefs.
Ex. Believing you have superpowers despite evidence to the contrary.
Delusions
Abnormal movement and behavior arising from a disturbed mental state.
Ex. Sitting motionless for hours or repeating the same movement over and over.
Catatonia
Excessive emotional or physical activity.
Ex. Being excessively energetic or agitated without a clear reason.
Overexcitement
Slowing down of mental and physical activities.
Ex. Taking longer to respond to questions or having slowed physical movements
Retardation
Perceptions of sound (usually voices) without an external source. Common in most patients with psychosis. Often unpleasant and distressing.
Impact: Up to 25% of patients with auditory hallucinations may attempt suicide.
Treatment Challenges: Current treatments are not fully effective, with about one-third of patients not responding to treatment.
Auditory Hallucinations
When a condition does not respond to treatment.
Refractory
Proposes that auditory hallucinations occur because individuals with schizophrenia lose awareness of their own inner speech, leading them to perceive their thoughts as external voices.
Inner Speech Hypothesis
Suggests that auditory hallucinations are caused by spontaneous firing in the auditory cortex, similar to seizures in epilepsy.
Spontaneous Firing Hypothesis
The internal monologue or thoughts that occur in words within our minds.
Inner Speech
A technique that measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. Active brain regions consume more oxygen, leading to increased blood flow.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Horizontal slices of the brain, viewed from above.
Axial Slice
To cause confusion or interfere with the results of an experiment.
Confound
A signal or prompt that triggers a specific response or action.
Cue
The time lag between a stimulus (e.g., light flash) and the brain’s response, typically 2-6 seconds.
Delay in Brain Response
Increased activity in the hearing parts of the brain during hallucinations.
Auditory Cortex Activation
Increased activity in the speech generation area during hallucinations.
Inferior Frontal Gyrus (Broca’s Area) Activation
Involved in auditory processing and speech perception.
Superior Temporal Gyrus
Involved in monitoring motor movements.
Cerebellum
Responds to novelty or unexpected events.
Parahippocampal Gyrus
A neural mechanism that helps distinguish self-generated actions (like inner speech) from external stimuli
Corollary Discharge Signal
An MRI technique used to visualize white matter fibers that connect different parts of the brain
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
Bundles of myelinated axons that facilitate communication between different brain regions
White Matter Fibers
A major white matter tract that connects the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes
Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (SLF)
In the context of brain networks refers to the quality and robustness of the connections between different brain regions.
Integrity
Generally good for brain health and cognitive function.
In Hallucinations: Can contribute to the misinterpretation of inner speech, leading to auditory hallucinations
High Integrity
