FINALS 3 - Schizophrenia — Symptoms

Schizophrenia

Split mind

Eugen Bleuler

Schizophrenia

• split mind

• is a term introduced by ________ in 1911

Schizophrenia

• describes a particular psychotic condition or group of conditions

• does not involve multiple personality; the term implies a split with reality

Schizophrenia

characterized by loss of contact with reality, this involve such extreme disortion of perception and thought that the person is unable to function adaptively (the symptoms are highly variable)

Schizophrenia

may have hallucinations or delusions, or may shut themselves off from the social and physical world

• some people with this disorder show poverty of speech, characterized by brief and content-free replies and may be accompanied by blocking or thought (having fewer ad less varied thoughts than most people)

positive formal thought disorders

Some patients show ________________, including:

• disorganized speech,

• following unexpected chains of thought,

• using invented words,

• preserveration (repetition of words or phrases)

psychomotor sysmptoms

Other patients show _____________, including:

• loss of spontaneous movement,

• the adoption of odd postures or movements.

• In extreme form, this may be a total lack of response to the environment (catatonia)

Catatonia

Total lack of response to the environment

blunted affect

others shows inappropriate affect:

• EX. laughter when hearing tragic news or ______ _____

Hallucinations

false sensory perceptions, usually hearing voices

Delusions

false beliefs

• A person may have one overwhelming _____ (ex: that he is Christ) or many delusions, may feel uplifted by or confused by the delusions

• equally

• lowest socioeconomic groups

• separated or divorced

• single people

About 1% of people meet the criteria for schizophrenia:

• men and women about _______

• The incidence is nearly 5 times as high in the ____________ as it is in the highest

• is about 3 times higher in ______/______

• 2 times as high in _______ as in married people

• Positive symptoms

• Negative symptoms

• Disorganized symptoms

Types of Symptoms in Schizophrenia:

Positive Symptoms

are more obvious signs of psychosis

• disturbing experiences of delusions and hallucinations

50% & 70%

percentage of people with schizophrenia that experience hallucinations, delusions, or both

Delusion

a belief that would be seen by most members of a society as a misrepresentation of reality

Delusion

is also called disorder of thought

Delusion

because of its importance in schizophrenia, it has been called “the basic characteristic of madness”

delusional

if you believe that squirrels are aliens sent to Earth on a reconnaissance mission, you would be considered __________

Schizophrenia

The media often portray people with _________ as believing they are famous or important people (such as Napoleon or Jesus Christ) although this is only one type of delusion

• For example an individual’s believe that he could end starvation for all the world’s children is also kind of delusion, specifically delusions of grandeur

• Delusion: Delusions of grandeur, Delusions of persecution, Capgras, Cotard’s

• Hallucinations: Auditory hallucination

Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia:

Delusions of grandeur

a mistaken belief that the person is famous or powerful

Delusions of persecution

a common delusion in people with schizophrenia in which they believe that other are “out to get them”

• these beliefs can be most disturbing

Capgras Delusion

The person believes that someone close to them has been replaced by an identical imposter

• Ex. “That's not my real mother — its someone pretending to be her.”

Cotard Delusion (Cotard’s syndrome)

Person believes they are dead, dying, or do not exist

Hallucinations

the experience of sensory events without any input from the surrounding environment

• can involve any of the senses

Auditory hallucination

the most common form of hallucination experienced by people with schizophrenia, with 70% of those with the diagnosis endorsing this type

Negative symptoms

usually indicate the absence or insufficiency of normal behavior

• Avolition

• Anhedonia

• Asociality

• Affective flattening

Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: (4)

Avolition

also called apathy

• the inability to initiate and persist in activities

Avolition

people with this symptom show little interest in performing even the most basic day-to-day functions, including those associated with personal hygiene

Without

Prefix-a- means _______

Volition

which means an act of willing, choosing, or deciding

Anhedonia

the presumed lack of pleasure experienced by some people with schizophrenia

• signals an indifference to activities that would typically be considered pleasurable, including eating, social interactions, ad sexual relations

hedonic

pleasure

Asociality

this symptom captures a lack of interest in social interactions

• unfortunately, this symptom can also result from or be worsened by limited opportunities to interact with others, particularly for several ill patients

Affective flattening

A lack of showing emotion characterized by an apathetic and unchanging facial expression and little to no change in the strength, tone, or pitch of the voice

Affective flattening

they are similar to people wearing masks because they do not show emotions when you would normally expect them to

• they stare at you vacantly, speak in flat and toneless manner, and seem unaffected by things going on around them

• although they do not react openly to emotional situations, they may be responding on the inside

Flat affect

approximately one quarter of the people with schizophrenia exhibit this

• Imagine that people wore masks at all time. You could communicate with them verbally, but you wouldn’t be able to see their emotional reactions

Disorganized symptoms

perhaps the least studied and therefore the least understood symptoms of schizophrenia

Disorganized symptoms

these includes a variety of erratic behaviors that affect speech, motor behavior, and emotional reactions

• Disorganized speech

• Inappropriate affect

• Disorganized behavior

Disorganized Symptoms of Schizophrenia:

Disorganized speech

might speak incoherently, respond to questions with unrelated answers, say illogical things, or shift topic frequently

• signs of this symptom is loose associations

Loose associations

Example of this are: rapidly shifting between topic with no connections between topics

Inappropriate affect

emotional responses that are not keeping with the situation or are incompatible with expressed thoughts or wishes, such as smiling when told about the death of a friend

Extreme inappropriate affect

is a defining characteristics of disorganized schizophrenia

Disorganized behavior

also known as Catatonic behavior

• can vary from being childlike and silly to aggressive and violent

Disorganized behavior

this type of symptom can also involve excessive movements, unusual movements, unusual actions, freezing in place, or not responding to instructions or communication

• such behaviors may also include unprovoked agitation or sexual behavior in public