lecture 20 LOs Flashcards
what are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia
abnormal behavious that have been gained
hallucinations, delusions, thought disorders (all aka psychosis)
what are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia
normal functions that have been lost
blunted emotional responses, poverty of speech, social withdrawal, anhedonia, lack of insight, cog deficits
what percent of the populaton suffers from schizophrenia
1%
onset is typically after puberty
typically does not onset after 30 in men, small number of women develop symptoms after menopause (45+ years)
what are the seven primary domains of cognition that are affected by schizophrenia
speed of processing
working memory
visual learning/memory
social cognition
attention/vigilance
reasoning/problem solving
verbal learning/memory
the functions of what brain areas are most impacted by schizophrenia
PFC
what makes the highest chances of being diagnosed with schizophrenia
having an identical twin with the same diagnosis (50% chance)
what is a gene mutation that has been linked to schizophrenia
DISC1
encodes for proteins essential in neural development
various DISC1 poly-morphisms are also associated with impaired cognitive function
what are three perinatal complications that may lead to schizophrenia
poor nutrition during pregnancy
premature birth/low birth weight
physical/immune stressors during pregnancy
what are some behaviours in early infancy that can signal potential risk of schizophrenia
passivity, apathy, reduced responsiveness to verbal commands, difficult temperament, poor sensorimotor performance
what is seen in adolescence regarding brain matter that can signal schizophrenia
excessive synaptic pruning that can result in loss of cortical grey matter
what is seen in the early stages of schizophrenia
genetic predispositions and gene expressions
environmental insults including viruses and toxins
what is seen in the latent stages of schizophrenia
early subtle signs predicting schizophrenia including motor abnormalities, apathy, social withdrawal
what is seen in late stage schizophrenia
excessive synaptic pruning, late environmental insults like stress, substance use, HPA axis dysfunction
what is seen in some schizophrenics hippocampus
enlarged lateral ventricles due to smaller hippocampus and other temporal lobe regions
also the organization of hippocampal neurons is altered
what is seen in the prefrontal cortex pyramidal neurons in schizophrenics
reduced number of dendrites which reduces processing power of the cells and leads to connectivity failures
