MCAT-Behavioral Science Unit 7

Psychological Disorders

Characteristic sets of thoughts, feelings, or actions that cause noticeable distress to the sufferer, are considered deviant by the individual’s culture, or cause maladaptive functioning in society, meaning that some aspect of the individual’s behavior negatively impacts others oir leads to self-defeating outcomes.

The Biochemical Approaches to Psychological Disorders.

Assumes that any disorder has roots in biochemical disturbances, and thus, the solution should also be of a biomedical nature.

The Biopsychosocial Approaches to Psychological Disorders.

Assumes that one’s psychological disorder comes from biological (genetic syndrome), psychological (thoughts, emotions, or behaviors), and social (individual’s surroundings) backgrounds.

Direct Therapy

Treatment that acts directly on the individual.

Indirect Therapy

Aims to increase social support by educating and empowering family and friends of the affected individual.

How do the psychological disorders classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

They are classified based on symptoms.

Psychopharmacology

Use of medication and psychotherapy

What is psychotherapy?

The use of specialized techniques by a trained therapist.

Talk Therapy

Verbal interactions and exploration of thoughts and feelings.

Behavioral Therapy

Directly modifying maladaptive behaviors using learning principles.

Systematic desensitization

a behavioral therapy technique that exposes an individual with a phobia to the feared objects or situations to reduce anxiety and phobias.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Change an individual’s unhelpful thinking and behavioral patterns to reduce psychological disorders.

Psychotic Disorder

Individuals with one or more of the following symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought, behavior, catatonia, and negative symptoms.

Positive Symptoms

Behaviors, thoughts, or feelings added to normal behavior

Negative Symptoms

Absence of normal or desired behavior

Delusions of reference

The belief that common elements in the environment are directed towards the individual.

Delusions of persecution

The belief that the person is being deliberately interfered with, discriminated against, plotted against, or threatened.

Delusions of grandeur

The belief that the person is remarkable in some significant way.

Thought Broadcasting

The belief that one’s thoughts are broadcast directly from one’s head to the external world.

Thought Withdrawal

The belief that thoughts are being removed from one’s head.

Thought Insertion

The belief that thoughts are being placed in one’s head.

Hallucinations

Perceptions that are not due to external stimuli but which nevertheless seem real to the person perceiving them. (ex. Fake voices, visual hallucinations after drug use)

What is the difference between delusions and hallucinations?

Delusions are beliefs, and hallucinations are sensory/perceptions.

Disorganized thought

Speech was shifted from one subject to another, making the listener unable to follow.

Word Salad

Words thrown together incomprehensibly.

Neologism

The creation of new words.

Disorganized behavior

Unable to carry out daily activities.

Catatonia

A neuropsychiatric syndrome with abnormal motor, behavioral, and emotional responses.

Echolalia

Repeating what others said.

Echopraxia

Imitating another person’s action.

Affect

The outward expression of emotion, mood, or feeling, observed through facial expressions, voice tone, and body language

Blunting

Reduced emotional expression.

Emotional Flattening (Flat Affect)

Virtually no sign of emotional expression.

Inappropriate Affect

The emotional expression displayed clearly does not match the context of the speech.

Avolition

Decreased engagement in purposeful, goal-directed actions.

Schizophrenia

A break between individual and the reality.

Downward Drift Hypothesis

Schizophrenia causes a decline in socioeconomic status, leading to worsening symptoms, which sets up a negative spiral for the patient towards poverty and psychosis.

Name the phases of schizophrenia.

1) Prodromal Phase

2) Active Phase

3) Recovery/Residue Phase

Prodromal Phase

The subtle, early stage of a disease or disorder, marked by nonspecific warning signs before the full-blown illness appears

Active Phase

The psychotic symptoms are displayed.

Residual/Recovery Phase

The stage after the intense "active" phase where severe symptoms lessen, but milder, persistent ones (like low motivation, flat affect, social withdrawal) remain as the person gradually returns to a more "normal" state, focusing on managing lingering issues and reintegrating with support like therapy (CBT) to build skills and prevent relapse

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Include both personality disorder and psychotic symptoms, with the personality symptoms having already established before psychotic symptoms present.

Delusion Disorder

Psychotic symptoms are limited to delusions and are present for at least a month.

Brief Psychotic Disorder

Positive psychotic symptoms are present for at least a day, but less than a month.

Schizophreniform Disorder

Same diagnostic criteria as schizophrenia except in duration; the required duration for this diagnosis is only 1 month.

Schizoaffective Disorder

Major mood episodes (major depressive episodes and manic episodes) while also presenting psychotic symptoms.

9 depressive symptoms

Sadness + SIG E. CAPS

SIG E. CAPS: Sleep, Interest, Guilt, Energy, Concentration, Appetite, Psychomotor symptoms, and Suicidal thoughts.

Explain the two types of Psychomotor Symptoms.

Psychomotor Retardation: slowed thoughts and physical movements

Psychomotor Agitation: restlessness resulting in undesired movement

Major Depressive Disorder

Presence of major depressive episodes.

Major Depressive Episode

A 2-week or longer period in which 5 of the 9 defined depressive symptoms are encountered, which must include either depressed mood or anhedonia.

What is anhedonia?

Inability to feel and anticipate pleasure.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)

Individuals experience a period, lasting at least two years, of depressive mood.

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Persistent and recurrent emotional irritability in multiple environments.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Depression occurs a few days before menses and resolve afterwards.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Postpartum Depression

Depressive symptoms caused by the rapid change of hormone levels after giving birth.in

What is a common therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Bright Light Therapy

Manic Symptoms

An exaggerated elevation in mood, accompanied by an increase in goal-directed activity and energy.

What are the 7 manic symptoms?

DIG FAST: Distractibility, Irresponsibility, Grandiosity, Flight of thoughts, Activity or agitation, Sleep, Talkative.

Hypomanic Episode

At least 3 manic symptoms are present for at least 4 days.

Manic Episode

At least 3 manic symptoms are present for at least 7 days.

Bipolar I Disorder

Presence of both major depressive episodes and manic episodes.

Bipolar II Disorder

Presence of both major depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes.

What are the criteria of Cyclothymic Disorder

1) Never experience at least 3 manic symptoms in 4 days.

2) Never experience at least 5 depressive symptoms in 2 weeks.

3) Experience numerous periods of manic and depressive symptoms for the majority of the time over 2 years.

Monoamine/Catecholamine Theory of Depression

Too much norepinephrine and serotonin leads to mania; Too little norepinephrine and serotonin leads to depression.

What is anxiety?

Fear of an upcoming or future event.

Anxiety Disorder

Irrational and excessive fear or anxiety affects an individual’s daily functioning.

Phobia

Irrational fear of something that makes one want to avoid it.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

The excessive fear of being separated from one’s caregivers or home environment.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Fear or anxiety towards social situations with the belief that the individual will be exposed, embarrassed, or simply negatively perceived by others.

Selective Mutism

Unable to speak in a situation where speech is expected, but able to speak in a situation where speech is not expected.

Panic Disorder

The recurrence of unexpected panic attacks.

Panic Attack

Sudden urge of fear in the thought that the individual is losing control of the body and/or that they are about to die.

Agoraphobia

The fear of being in places or situations where it might be difficult for an individual to escape.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Disproportionate and persistent worry about many different things for at least six months.

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Obsessions that produce tension and compulsions that relieve tension but cause significant impairment in a person’s life.

Obsession

Ideation that if a particular need is not met, then disastrous events will follow.

Compulsion

Actions that ensure that a particular need is met, and that the disastrous events will not follow.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Unrealistic negative evaluation of personal appearance and attractiveness, usually directed toward a certain body part.

Preoccupation

Intensely focused or consumed by a particular thought, idea, or activity, making it hard to think about anything else, often stemming from stress or anxiety.

Muscle Dysmorphia

One’s belief that their body or muscle is too small and proceeds to work out.

Hoarding Disorder

A need to save or keep items, and is often paired with excessive acquisition of objects.

Trichotillomania

Hair-pulling disorder

Excoriation disorder

Skin-picking disorder

What are the four types of symptoms in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?

Intrusion symptoms, Arousal symptoms, Avoidance symptoms, Negative cognitive symptoms

Intrusion symptoms

Recurrent reliving of the event, flashbacks, nightmares, and prolonged distress.

Arousal symptoms

An increased startle response, irritability, anxiety, self-destructive or reckless behavior, and sleep disturbances.

Avoidance symptoms

Deliberately attempts to avoid the memories, places, people, activities, and objects associated with the trauma.

Negative cognitive symptoms

An inability to recall key features of the event, negative mood or emotions, feeling distanced from others, and a persistent negative view of the world.

What is it called when the symptoms of PTSD appeared for less than one month?

Acute stress disorder

Dissociative Disorders

Avoid stress by escaping from parts of their identity.

Dissociative Amnesia

Inability to recall past experience.

Dissociative Fugue

A sudden, unexpected move or purposeless wandering away from one’s home or location of usual daily activities.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

When two or more personalities recurrently take control of the patient’s behavior.

Depersonalization

Individuals felt detached from their own minds and bodies.

Derealization

Individuals felt detached from their surroundings

Somatic Symptom Disorder

A mental health condition where a person experiences intense, excessive distress and preoccupation with physical symptoms (like pain, fatigue, shortness of breath), leading to significant life impairment, even if a medical cause is found or not.

Illness Anxiety Disorder (Hypochondriasis)

A mental health condition where people have excessive, persistent worry about having or developing a serious illness, misinterpreting normal bodily sensations (like a headache or stomach gurgle) as signs of severe disease, even with normal medical results, causing significant distress and life disruption.

Conversion Disorder (Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder)

Involves real neurological symptoms like paralysis, weakness, seizures, or sensory loss (blindness, numbness) that aren't caused by structural brain damage but by a psychological issue

Personality Disorder

A pattern of behavior that is inflexible and maladaptive, causing distress or impaired functioning in at least two of the following: cognition, emotions, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control.