module 11: psychosis Flashcards
(61 cards)
What is schizophrenia classified as?
A form of psychosis
Schizophrenia is one type among various psychotic disorders.
What is understood about psychotic disorders and schizophrenia?
They are part of a spectrum of disorders.
Define psychosis.
Loss of touch with reality.
What are delusions?
False beliefs.
What are hallucinations?
False percepts.
List types of disorders included in the schizophrenia spectrum.
- Schizophreniform Disorder
- Schizoaffective Disorder
- Delusional Disorder
- Brief Psychotic Disorder
- Psychotic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition
- Substance/Medication-Induced Psychotic Disorder
- Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder
- Other Specified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder
What do hallucinations or delusions reflect?
Disturbances in the neural systems underlying these symptoms regardless of the categorical psychiatric disorder with which they are associated.
This indicates that hallucinations and delusions are not exclusive to one specific disorder but are linked to broader neural dysfunctions.
How do disorders along the schizophrenia spectrum differ from one another?
By the type, number, complexity, severity, and duration of the psychotic symptoms and associated features that define them.
These aspects help to classify and differentiate various disorders within the schizophrenia spectrum.
What is likely to supersede schizophrenia as a diagnosis?
More specific diagnoses.
This suggests that the current broad categorization of schizophrenia may evolve into more refined classifications in the future.
what are positive symptoms of schizophrenia
hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thought and speech, bizarre behaviours
what are negative symptoms of schizophrenia
emotional dysregulation
lack of emotional expression, reduced facial expression, inability to experience pleasure in everyday activities
impaired motivation: reduced conversation, diminished ability to begin or sustain activities, social withdrawal
what are cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia
neurocognitive impairment: memory problems, poor attention span, difficulty making plans, reduced decision-making capacity, poor social cognition, abnormal movement patterns
What is the relationship between single genes and schizophrenia?
No single gene causes or increases susceptibility to schizophrenia.
What have studies identified in some individuals with schizophrenia?
A few genes have been identified as abnormal in some schizophrenics; several are involved in synapse rearrangement.
How does paternal age relate to schizophrenia?
Paternal age is an epigenetic factor: older fathers are more likely to have a child with schizophrenia.
What is an endophenotype in relation to schizophrenia?
Behavioral or physical characteristics that accompany an inherited susceptibility to a disorder.
How can endophenotypes be measured?
They can be objectively measured by various neuropsychological tests, e.g., differences in eye movements.
What consistent structural changes are observed in the brains of many schizophrenic patients?
Enlarged cerebral ventricles, smaller hippocampus and amygdala, disorganized pyramidal cells in the hippocampus, abnormalities in limbic network activity, altered structure and function of the corpus callosum, loss of gray matter in frontal lobes
These changes are indicative of the structural brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia.
Which part of the brain is particularly noted for being smaller in schizophrenic patients?
Hippocampus and amygdala
These reductions in size may relate to the cognitive and emotional dysfunctions observed in schizophrenia.
What is the arrangement of pyramidal cells in the hippocampus of schizophrenic patients?
Disorganized
This disorganization likely occurs during early cell development and may contribute to the symptoms of schizophrenia.
What hypothesis suggests schizophrenia may be caused by underactivation of the frontal lobes?
Hypofrontality hypothesis
This hypothesis links the cognitive deficits in schizophrenia to reduced activity in the frontal lobes.
What structural change is noted in the corpus callosum of individuals with schizophrenia?
Altered structure and function
The corpus callosum plays a critical role in communication between the two hemispheres of the brain.
What specific loss is observed in the frontal lobes of adolescents with schizophrenia?
Loss of gray matter
This loss may be related to the onset of symptoms during late adolescence or early adulthood.
Fill in the blank: The _______ are enlarged in the brains of many schizophrenic patients.
cerebral ventricles
Enlargement of the ventricles is a common finding in neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia.
