schizophrenia Specification

Question 1

classification of schizophrenia

Answer 1

Classification, positive symptoms including hallucinations and delusions. Negative symptoms including speech poverty and avolition/apathy.

Question 2

Reliability and validity in diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia

Answer 2

Reliability and validity:co-morbidity, symptom overlap, gender bias, culture bias.

Question 3

Genetic explanations

Answer 3

Biological exaplanations for sz: genetics. (Family studies, candidate genes, role of mutation)

Question 4

Neural correlate explanations for sz

Answer 4

Biological explanation for sz: neural correlates, including the dopamine hypothesis (original and newer), ventral striatum (linked to motivation/avolition), superior temporal gyrus (auditory processing, comprehension of language) and anterior cingulate gyrus (part of limbic system, processes emotions, regulates autonomic motor functions)

Question 5

Family dysfunction explanations

Answer 5

Psychological explanations for schizophrenia: family dysfunction (schizophenigenic mother and exspressed emotion)

Question 6

Cognitive explanations

Answer 6

Psychological explanations for sz: cognitive explanations (positive and negative symptoms), including dysfunctional thought processing (meta representation and central control)

Question 7

Drug Therapy

Answer 7

Typical (first gen) and Atypical antipsychotics

Question 8

Cognitive behaviour therapy

Answer 8

CBT as used in the treatment of sz (able to cope, challenge delusions and hallucinations, reality testing, drawings, behavioural techniques)

Question 9

Family Therapy

Answer 9

family therapy as used in the treatment of SZ (aims, strategies, NICE)

Question 10

Token economy programmes

Answer 10

Token economies as used in management of sz. (Behaviourist)