What is psychosis? Flashcards
What does psychosis include?
An umbrella term which includes:
Delerium
Encephalopathy (damage/ disease that affects brain)
Dementia
Personality disorder
Schizophrenia
Mania, depression, puerperal psychosis (psychosis to giving birth)
Drugs, metabolic disorders, endocrine disorders and infection- can cause psychotic disorders
What is psychosis?
Can be made up of hallucinations, delusions and or thought disorder
Its a reality failure- madness
What are auditory verbal hallucinations?
Thoughts/ internal monologue experienced as external/ other
What is the aim of delusions?
Trying to make sense of perplexity
What drives the formation of delusional beliefs?
Intense feeling of being controlled/ persecuted/ culpable
What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
Hallucinations
Delusions
Add to reality
What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
Anhedonia (lack of feeling pleasure)
Apathy
Social withdrawal
What are disorganised symptoms of schizophrenia?
Though disorder
Disorganised speech/ language
What causes schizophrenia?
Has a significant genetic component
Heritability is about 80%
Normally has multifactor genetic causes, very few single gene causes
A lot of genes affected are associated with genes for D2, neurodevelopment and inflammation
Associated with excess striated dopamine
What is the role of dopamine?
Dopamine is associated with reward
Gives a sense of salience (sense of importance attached to perception)
What are causes of psychosis?
Genetic component Developmental adversity/ abuse Neurodevelopment - prematurity, hypoxia, infection etc. Life stressors Relationship with recreational drugs
What is treatment for psychosis?
Antipsychotics- seretonergic, anticholinergic
Psychological therapies- CBT
Social support- supportive environment, housing, benefits
How does dopamine medication work?
Blockage of dopamine
Aiming for cortical and limbic pathway
