7 Psychological disorders Flashcards
Give the criteria for schizophrenia diagnosis (psychotic disorder)
- delusions
- hallucinations
- disorganized thought
- disorganized behaviour
- catatonia (abnormal movement/behaviour)
- negative symptoms (e.g. disturbance of affect, flat effect, avolition)
Must show continuous signs of disturbance for at least six months, and within this six month period have at least one month of ‘active symptoms’ (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech.
What is a delusion of reference?
A positive symptoms of schizophrenia
Delusions of reference – A neutral event is believed to have a special and personal meaning. For example, a person with schizophrenia might believe a billboard or a celebrity is sending a message meant specifically for them.
Describe disturbance of affect and inappropriate affect
A negative symptom of schizophrenia.
Flat affect: A severe reduction in emotional expressiveness. People with depression and schizophrenia often show flat affect. A person with schizophrenia may not show the signs of normal emotion, perhaps may speak in a monotonous voice, have diminished facial expressions, and appear extremely apathetic. Also known as blunted affect.
Inappropriate affect: affect is clearly discordant with content of individuals speech (e.g. laughing while describing death)
What is avolition?
decreased engagement in purposeful, goal directed action.
A negative symptom of schizophrenia.
What is the prodromal phase of schizophrenia?
The first phase pf schizophrenia is referred to as the prodrome (or prodromal) phase. During this period the person starts to experience changes in themselves, but have not yet started experiencing clear-cut psychotic symptoms.
Usually involves social withdrawal, peculiar behaviour etc.
If the prodromal phase is lone, the prognosis is usually worse than if it was short and onset of symptoms was quick and intense.
Differentiate bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder
Bipolar I disorder: manic episodes with or without depressive episodes
Bipolar II disorder: hypomania with at least one depressive episode
What is cyclothymic disorder?
A form of bipolar disorder.
combination of hypomanic episodes and periods of dysthymia that are not severe enough to quality as major depressive episodes
What is the monoamine or catecholamine theory of depression?
Too much norepinephrine and serotonin in the synapse leads to mania, while too little leads to depression.
Live the five common anxiety disorders
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Specific phobias
- Social anxiety disorder
- Agoraphobia (fear of being in places hard to escape)
- Panic disorder
Describe the main symptomology of post traumatic stress disorder:
- Intrusion symptoms (flashbacks, nightmares etc)
- Avoidance symptoms
- Negative cognitive symptoms (e.g. inability to recall key features of events, pessimism)
- Arousal symptoms (irritability, increased startle response, sleep disturbances, self-destructive behaviours)
A particular number of these symptoms must be present for at least one month for a Dx of PTSD. If present for less than a month but more than three days, acute stress disorder.
List the three associated disorders tested on the MCAT
- Dissociative amnesia (associated often with trauma, fugue state)
- Dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder)
- Depersonalization/derealization disorder (detached from own person: depersonalization; or from surroundings: derealization - does not involve hallucinations or delusions, though someone may not recognize their own reflection)
List the three somatic symptom and related disorders tested on the mcat
- Somatic symptom disorder (person feels extreme anxiety about physical symptoms such as pain or fatigue. The person has intense thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to the symptoms that interfere with daily life. … The pain and other problems are real. They may be caused by a medical problem)
- Illness anxiety disorder (consumed with thoughts about having or developing serious medical conditions - hypochondriacs)
- Conversion disorder (is a mental condition in which a person has blindness, paralysis, or other nervous system (neurologic) symptoms that cannot be explained by medical evaluation - e.g. hysteria)
Personality disorders are considered ego-syntonic. What does this mean?
In psychoanalysis, egosyntonic refers to the behaviors, values, and feelings that are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, or consistent with one’s ideal self-image.
Most non-personality disorders are ego-dystonic, where the individual is aware there is a disturbance.
List the three clusters of personality disorders
Cluster A (weird): paranoid, schizotypal, schizoid)
Cluster B (wild): antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic)
Cluster C (worried): avoidant, dependent, OCPD)
Obsessive-compulsive PERSONALITY disorder is different than OCD, it is a personality disorder in which individuals are perfectionistic and inflexible.
Describe the MOA of antispychotics
Neuroleptics: block dopamine receptors
