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MCAT > 7A: Psychological Disorders > Flashcards

7A: Psychological Disorders Flashcards

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1
Q

What are psychological disorders?

A

Characteristic sets of thoughts, feelings or actions that cause noticeable distress to the sufferer, cause maladaptive functioning in society or are considered deviant by the individual’s culture

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2
Q

What is the Biomedical Approach?

A

It believes that illnesses are due to abnormal somatic processes; it believes that there is a single-factor cause that leads to biological malfunction; considers the mind and body are separate entities

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3
Q

What is the Biopsychosocial Approach?

A

It believes that illnesses are deviations from steady state; that there are biological, psychological and social components to an individual’s disorder; multiple-factors cause that leads to multiple effects; considers mind and body to be inseparable

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4
Q

How are Psychological Disorders classified?

A

By the ICD-10 or DSM-5

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5
Q

Schizophrenia

A

A psychotic disorder that causes delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, disorganized behavior, catatonia and negative symptoms (absence of normal/desired behavior)

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6
Q

What are delusions?

A

False beliefs discordant with reality and not shared by others

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7
Q

Types of delusions

A
  1. Reference
  2. Persecution
  3. Grandeur
  4. Thought Broadcasting/Insertion
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8
Q

What are hallucinations?

A

Perceptions that are not due to external stimuli but have a compelling sense of reality

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9
Q

What is catatonia?

A

Certain motor behaviors characteristic of schizophrenics

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10
Q

What is echolalia?

A

Repeating another’s words

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11
Q

What is echopraxia?

A

Imitating another’s actions

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12
Q

What is disturbance of affect?

A

It can lead to severe reduction in the intensity of affect expression, no signs of emotional expression or discordant with content of the individuals speech

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13
Q

What is the prodromal phase?

A

Characterized by poor adjustment, social withdrawal, role functioning impairment, peculiar behavior, inappropriate affect and unusual experiences

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14
Q

What characterizes Major Depressive Disorder?

A 
Sleep Issues
Lack of Interest (Anhedonia)
Guilt
Energy
Lack of Concentration
Appetite disturbances
Psychomotor Symptoms
Suicidal Thoughts
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15
Q

What characterizes Persistent Depressive Disorder?

A

It’s considered a depressed mood that isn’t severe enough to meet the criteria of a major depressive episode

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16
Q

What characterizes Seasonal Affect Disorder?

A

Seasonal onset of major depressive disorder; normally present in the winter months; related to abnormal melatonin metabolism

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17
Q

What characterizes Bipolar Disorders

A

Increased distractibility, insomnia, grandiosity, flight of ideas, agitation, talkativeness and thoughtlessness

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18
Q

What characterizes Bipolar I Disorder?

A

Manic episodes with or without major depressive episodes

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19
Q

What characterizes Bipolar II Disorder?

A

Hypomania with at least one major depressive episode

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20
Q

What characterizes Cyclothymic Disorder?

A

Consists of a combination of hypomanic episodes and periods of dysthymia

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21
Q

Monoamine (Catecholamine) Theory of Depression

A

It posits that too much norepinephrine and serotonin in the synapse leads to mania while too little leads to depression

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22
Q

What characterizes Generalized Anxiety Disorder

A

Disproportionate and persistent worry about many different things for at least six months. These individuals often have physical symptoms like fatigue, muscle tension and sleep problems that accompany the worry

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23
Q

What is a phobia?

A

An irrational fear of something that results in a compelling desire to avoid it

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24
Q

What characterizes social anxiety?

A

Anxiety in social situations, they have a persistent fear when exposed to social or performance situations that may result in embarrassment

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25
What characterizes agoraphobia?
Fear of being in places or in situations where it might be hard for an individual to escape; tend to be uncomfortable leaving their homes
26
What characterizes panic disorder?
Consists of repeated panic attacks
27
What characterizes Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessions (intrusive thoughts which produce tension) Compulsions (repetitive tasks that relieve tension but cause impairment) Obsessions raise the individuals stress level and compulsions relieve the stress
28
What characterizes Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
A person with unrealistic negative evaluation of his or her appearance and attractiveness, usually directed toward a certain body part
29
What characterizes Dissociatives Disorders?
In these disorders, the person avoids stress by escaping from his identity but their sense of reality remains intact
30
What characterizes Dissociative Amnesia?
Inability to recall past experiences often due to trauma; often associated with a dissociative fugue
31
What characterizes Dissociative Identity Disorder?
There are two or more personalities that recurrently take control of a person's behavior; results when components of identity fail to integrate; often due to severe physical or sexual abuse
32
What characterizes Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder?
Individuals feel detached from their own mind (depersonalization) Detached from their body or from their surroundings, gives the world a dreamlike or insubstantial quality (derealization)
33
What characterizes Somatic Symptom Disorders?
These disorders are characterized by somatic symptoms that cause significant stress or impairment
34
What characterizes Conversion Disorder?
Characterized by unexplained symptoms affecting voluntary motor and sensory functions and symptoms generally begin after a traumatic event
35
What characterizes Illness Anxiety Disorder?
Characterized by being consumed with thoughts about having or developing a serious medical condition
36
What describes Personality disorders?
Patterns of behavior that are inflexible and maladaptive causing distress or impaired functioning in at least two of the following: cognition, emotion, interpersonal functioning or impulse control. They are considered Ego-Syntonic which means that the individual perceives their behavior as correct, normal or in harmony with their goals
37
What are Cluster A disorders? (Weird)
Paranoid, Schizotypal & Schizoid Personality Disorders
38
Describe Paranoid Disorders
Pervasive Mistrust of others and suspicion regarding their motives
39
Describe Schizotypal Disorders
Pattern of odd or eccentric thinking; delusions of reference as well as magical thinking
40
Describe Schizoid Disorders
Pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and restricted range of emotional expression; show little desire for social interactions
41
What are Cluster B disorders? (Wild)
Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic and Narcissistic Personality Disorders
42
Describe Antisocial Disorder
Pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others; lack of remorse, deceitfulness
43
Describe Borderline Disorder
Pervasive instability in interpersonal behavior, mood and self-image; interpersonal relationships are often intense and unstable; they have intense fear of abandonment
44
Describe Histrionic Disorder
They have constant attention-seeking behavior, wear colorful clothing, they're dramatic and exceptionally extroverted; use seductive behavior to gain attention
45
Describe Narcissistic Disorder
These individuals have a grandiose sense of self-importance or uniqueness, preoccupation with fantasies of success, a need for constant admiration and attention and characteristic disturbances in interpersonal relationships
46
What are Cluster C Disorders?
Avoidant, Dependent and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders
47
Describe Avoidant Disorder
Extremely shy and fear rejection
48
Describe Dependent Disorder
Continuous need for reassurance usually from one particular person
49
Describe Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
Perfectionistic and inflexible, tend to like rules and order; lack of desire to change, excessive stubbornness, lack of a sense of humor and maintenance of careful routines
50
What is the difference between OCPD and OCD?
OCPD is lifelong whereas OCD is focal and acquired.
51
I can't stop washing my hands because of the germs!
OCD
52
I just like rules and order!
OCPD
53
What describes PTSD?
It's a result of a traumatic event that is difficult to forget causing emotional and mental terror
54
What describes a Tic disorder?
One makes sudden, uncontrollable and repeated movement or sound such as in Tourette's Syndrome
55
What is the Biological Bases of Schizophrenia?
Most potential causes are genetic but also might be due to trauma at birth; hypoxemia is considered to be a risk factor; might be associated with excess dopamine in the brain
56
What is the Biological Bases of Depressive & Bipolar Disorders?
Host markers include high glycolytic flux in the amygdala, hippocampal atrophy, high levels of cortisol or decreased norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine
57
What is the Biological Bases of Parkinson's Disease?
Deterioration of the substantia nigra causes a lack of dopamine
58
Characteristics of Parkinsons Disease
Bradykinesia, Resting Tremor, Pill-Rolling Tremor, Masklike Facies, Cogwheel Rigidity, Shuffling Gait
59
What is the Biological Bases of Alzheimer's Disease?
Formation of neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and amyloid plaques
60
Characteristics of Alzheimer's Disease
Flattened sulci in the cerebral cortex, enlarged cerebral ventricles, deficient blood flow in parietal lobes, reduction in levels of ACh and AChE
61
What is Stem Cell Therapy?
Stem cells are capable of self-renewal, they can be useful tool to treat neurodegenerative diseases, it can be used to generate specific phenotype of neurons

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