Mental Illness Flashcards

1
Q

What is neurology

A

Is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system disorders

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2
Q

What is psychiatry?

A

Branch of medicine concerned with diagnosis and treatment of disorders that affect the mind

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3
Q

What two interacting factors produce the brain?

A

Heredity and environment

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4
Q

What two assumptions are Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis based on?

A
  1. Much of mental life is unconscious
  2. Past experiences shape how a person will feel and respond throughout life
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5
Q

Describe behaviourism?

A

Focuses on observable behaviours and their control by the environment

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6
Q

What major psychiatric disorder occurred during Freuds time?

A

General paresis of the insane

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7
Q

What is the course of general paresis of the insane?

A

Progressive
Symptoms of mania ( excitement, euphoria, and grandiose delusions) to cognitive deterioration and ultimately paralysis and death

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8
Q

What caused general paresis of the insane?

A

Treponema pallidum - microorganisms that cause syphilis

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9
Q

What does a dietary deficiency in niacin (vitamin B) cause?

A

Agitation, impaired reasoning and depression

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10
Q

What does HIV do to the brain?

A

Causes progressive cognitive and behavioural impairments

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11
Q

Describe molecular medicine

A

The approach of using genetic information to develop treatment

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12
Q

What is pathophysiology?

A

Discovery of abnormal physiological condition

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13
Q

What are the challenges for molecular medicine in treating brain diseases?

A
  1. Relies on patient description of symptoms
  2. Not all have a clear genetic basis and those that do have a large pool of implicated genes.
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14
Q

What are induced pluripotent stem cells?

A

Stem cells with the potential to differentiate into any cell type, including neurons, that are chemically transformed from mature cells derived from a person

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15
Q

What is the most common psychiatric disorders?

A

Anxiety disorders

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16
Q

Describe panic disorder

A

Frequent panic attacks consisting of discrete periods with the sudden onset of intense apprehension, fearfulness, or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom.

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17
Q

Describe agoraphobia

A

Anxiety about, or avoidance of, place or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing, or in which help may not be available in the event of a panic attack.

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18
Q

Describe generalised anxiety disorder

A

At least 6 months of persistent and excessive anxiety and worry

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19
Q

Describe specific phobias

A

Clinically significant anxiety provoked by exposure to a specific feared object or situation, often leading to avoidance behaviour

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20
Q

Describe social phobias

A

Clinically significant anxiety provoked by exposure to certain types of social or performance situations, often leading to avoidance behaviour

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21
Q

What are the symptoms of a panic disorder?

A

Palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, dizziness p, tingling sensations and chills or blushing

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22
Q

What is the stress response?

A

Is the coordinated reaction to threatening stimuli

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23
Q

How is the stress response characterised?

A

Avoidance behaviour
Increased vigilance and arousal
Activation of the sympathetic division of the ANS
Release of cortisol from the adrenal glands

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24
Q

What two structures help regulate CRH neurons in the hypothalamus?

A

Amygdala
Hippocampus

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25
Q

How does the amygdala and hypothalamus contribute to anxiety disorders?

A

Hyperactivity of the amygdala
Diminished activity of the hippocampus

26
Q

What neurons activate the HPA axis and the stress response?

A

Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

27
Q

What is psychotherapy?

A

Gradual increase to fear stimuli. To alter connections in the brain

28
Q

What are anxiolytic drugs?

A

Medications that reduce anxiety by altering chemical synaptic transmission in the brain

29
Q

What major types of the drugs are used in the treatment of anxiety disorders?

A

Benzodiazepines

Serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors

30
Q

How does Benzodiazepines work?

A

They bind to GABA A receptor and act to make GABA more effective in opening the Cl- channel and producing inhibition.

31
Q

How do PET scans differ in benzodiazepines binding in normal and panic disordered brains?

A

Fewer binding sites present in frontal cortex of panic disordered brain.

32
Q

How do SSRIs work?

A

Prolong the actions of released serotonin at their receptors by inhibiting reuptake

33
Q

Describe affective disorders

A

Disorder of mood

34
Q

What are the symptoms of depression?

A

Loss of appetite
Insomnia
Fatigue
Feelings of worthlessness and guilt
A diminished ability to concentrate
Recurrent thoughts of death

35
Q

What is bipolar disorder?

A

Repeated episodes of mania

36
Q

What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder?

A

Inflated self esteem or grandiosity
A decreased need for sleep
Increased talkativeness or feelings of pressure to keep talking
Flight of ideas, or a subjective experience that thoughts are racing
Distractibility
Increased goal directed activity

37
Q

What is the difference between type 1 and type 2 bipolar disorder?

A

Type 1 - mania
Type 2 - hypomania, generally associated with major depression

38
Q

What is the role of reserpine

A

Depletes central catecholamines and serotonin by interfering with their loading into synaptic vesicles

39
Q

What role does monoamine oxidase (MAO) play?

A

Enzyme that destroys catecholamines and serotonin

40
Q

What is the role of imipramine?

A

Inhibits the reuptake of released serotonin and NE thus promoting their action in the synaptic cleft

41
Q

What is the monoamine hypothesis of mood disorders?

A

A hypothesis suggesting that depression is a consequence of a reduction in the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin and NE, in the brain

42
Q

What is diasthesis?

A

Predisposition for a certain disease

43
Q

What is the diathesis-stress hypothesis of affective disorders?

A

HPA axis is the main site where genetic and environmental influences converge to cause a mood disorder

44
Q

What does injected CRH into the brains of animals produce behaviourally?

A

Symptoms similar to depression - insomnia, decreased appetite, decreased interest in sex, increased behavioural expression of anxiety,

45
Q

How are glucocorticoid receptors influenced in early childhood?

A

Number regulated by early sensory experience

Loving environment - tactile stimulation activates the ascending serotonergic inputs to the hippocampus = increased receptors

Neglectful environment - no growth in receptors

46
Q

How does the anterior cingulate cortex affect depressed patients?

A

Link between an internally generated emotional state and the HPA axis

47
Q

What is the most effective treatment for depression and mania?

A

Electroconvulsive therapy

48
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ECT?

A

A - fast acting

D - memory loss and impairment of new information storage

49
Q

What is psychotherapy?

A

Overcome negative views on themselves and their future,

50
Q

What are four antidepressant drugs?

A
  1. Tricyclic compounds such as imipramine (blocks reuptake of NE and 5-HT)
  2. SSRIs e.g. fluoxetine
  3. NE and 5-HT selective reuptake inhibitors e.g. venlafaxine
  4. MAO inhibitors to reduce enzymatic breakdown of NE and 5-HT e.g. phenelzine
51
Q

How do antidepressant drugs work?

A

Dampens hyperactivity of HPA and anterior cingulate cortex.

Increased glucocorticoid receptor expression in hippocampus

52
Q

How does lithium affect neurons?

A

Prevents normal turnover of phosphatidyl inositol (PIP2)
Interferes with adenylyl cyclase which generates cAMP and glycogen synthesise kinase,

53
Q

How is schizophrenia characterised?

A

Loss of contact with reality and a disruption of thought, perception, mood and movement

54
Q

What are the positive symptoms that reflect the presence of abnormal thoughts and behaviours in schizophrenia?

A

Delusions
Hallucinations
Disorganised speech
Grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour

55
Q

What are the negative symptoms that reflect the absence of responses that are normally present in schizophrenia?

A

Reduced expression of emotion
Poverty of speech
Difficulty in initiating goal directed behaviour
Memory impairment

56
Q

What causes schizophrenia?

A

Genetics
Environmental factors
Viral infections during fetal and infant development - contributing cause
Poor maternal nutrition - contributing cause

57
Q

What changes are seen in the schizophrenic brains?

A

Larger ventricles
Defects in myelination in cerebral cortex
Reduced cortical thickness and abnormal neuronal lamination.

58
Q

What is the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?

A

Psychotic episodes are triggered specifically by the activation of dopamine receptors.

Two systems: ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra (control of voluntary movement by striatum)

59
Q

What are neuroleptic drugs?

A

Potent blockers of dopamine receptors , specifically the D2 receptor

E.g. chlorpromazine

60
Q

What is the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia?

A

Reflects diminished activation of NMDA receptors in the brain

61
Q

What drugs affect glutamate receptors?

A

Phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine

Entering NMDA channel and clog the pore

62
Q

What drugs reduce the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

A

Chlorpromazine and haloperidol