Schizophrenia Lecture Notes

A collection of flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to schizophrenia, including its symptoms, causes, and biological factors.

Schizophrenia

A serious mental disorder characterized by a split in mental functions, affecting memory, perception, and thinking.

Positive Symptoms

Symptoms that reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions, including delusions and hallucinations.

Negative Symptoms

Symptoms that reflect a deficit of normal emotional responses or behaviors, such as anhedonia and social withdrawal.

Cognitive Symptoms

Symptoms that involve difficulties with processing information, memory problems, and impaired decision-making.

Delusions

False beliefs, such as thinking one is being harmed or watched.

Hallucinations

Perceptual experiences without an external stimulus, often auditory.

Disorganized Speech

A symptom of schizophrenia where responses are illogical or unrelated to the topic.

Alogia

Reduced conversation or speech output.

Anhedonia

The inability to experience pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.

Social Withdrawal

A lack of desire to engage with others or partake in social activities.

Genetic predisposition

An inherited increased risk of developing a condition, seen in family members of individuals with schizophrenia.

Environmental Risk Factors

External conditions such as prenatal stress or city living that increase the likelihood of developing schizophrenia.

Frontal Lobes

Brain regions associated with decision-making and emotional regulation, often affected in schizophrenia.

Hypofrontality Hypothesis

The theory that underactivity in the frontal lobes contributes to symptoms of schizophrenia.

Dopamine Hypothesis

The theory that increased dopamine release in certain brain areas leads to the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Serotonin Hypothesis

The theory that overactivity of serotonin in the frontal cortex contributes to schizophrenia symptoms.

Glutamate Hypothesis

The theory that reduced glutamate activity leads to insufficient stimulation of receptors, contributing to schizophrenia.

Neurotransmitter Imbalance

An imbalance in neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, that can lead to schizophrenia.

Cognitive Impairment

Difficulties with attention, memory, and social cognition caused by schizophrenia.

Personal Relationships

Interactions and connections between individuals, often affected in those with schizophrenia.

Age of Onset

The typical age range during which schizophrenia symptoms first appear; late teens to early 30s.

Psychotic Symptoms

Severe symptoms that may involve delusions and hallucinations, indicating a loss of contact with reality.

Frontal Cortex

Brain region responsible for higher cognitive functions, often less active in schizophrenia.

Enlarged Ventricles

Anatomical feature observed in some individuals with schizophrenia, indicating potential brain changes.

Stress Factors

Environmental and psychosocial stressors that can trigger or exacerbate schizophrenia symptoms.

Neurodevelopmental Factors

Aspects of brain development that can influence the onset of schizophrenia, particularly during adolescence.

Environmental Interactions

The combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors that can lead to the development of schizophrenia.

MRIs

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a technique used to visualize brain structures such as enlarged ventricles in individuals with schizophrenia.