Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorder

SCHIZOPHRENIA

originally called dementia praecox; a split between the emotional and intellectual aspects of experience: The person's emotional expression seems unconnected with current experiences; someone must have deteriorated in everyday functioning (work, inter personal relations, self-care, etc.) for at least 6 months for reasons not attributable to other disorders

DEMENTIA PRAECOX

premature mental deterioration

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER (MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER)

someone alternates among personalities

DELUSIONS

unjustifiable beliefs, such as 'Beings from outer space are controlling my actions'

HALLUCINATIONS

false sensory experiences, such as hearing voices when alone

DISORGANIZED SPEECH

rambling or incoherent

GROSSLY DISORGANIZED BEHAVIOR

encompasses a wide variety of possibilities.

POSITIVE SYMPTOMS

behaviors that are present that should be absent; delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior

NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS

behaviors that are absent that should be present; Weak emotional expression, speech, and socialization

COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS

impairments of thought and reasoning that are common in people with schizophrenia, even in people of normal or above-normal intelligence

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS

one that rules out other conditions

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Abuse of amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, LSD, or phencyclidine ('angel dust') can produce hallucinations or delusions; more likely than schizophrenia to produce visual hallucinations.

BRAIN DAMAGE

Damage or tumors in the temporal or prefrontal cortex can produce some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.

UNDETECTING HEARING DEFICITS

someone who is starting to have trouble hearing thinks that everyone else is whispering and starts to worry; Delusions of persecution

HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE

include hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking, as well as motor symptoms

CATATONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA

uncommon type of schizophrenia; includes motor abnormalities

NIACINE DEFICIENCY

can produce hallucinations and delusions

NUTRITIONAL PROBLEMS

Niacin deficiency can produce hallucinations and delusions and so can a deficiency of vitamin C or an allergy to milk proteins (not the same as lactose intolerance). Some people who cannot tolerate wheat gluten or other proteins react with hallucinations and delusions

GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME AND PERNICIOUS ANEMIA

People with schizophrenia have a higher than average probability of autoimmune diseases such as ___

TRANS-3-METHYL-2-HEXENOIC ACID

have a characteristic body odor, attributed to the chemical ___; they also have decreased ability to smell that chemical

CHROMOSOME 4

one can predict with almost perfect accuracy who will develop the disease and who will not

CONCORDANCE

agreement

MONOZYGOTIC TWINS

have a higher concordance (agreement) for schizophrenia than do dizygotic twins

DISRUPTED IN SCHIZOPHRENIA 1 (DISC1)

controls differentiation and migration of neurons in brain development

MICRODELETION

the deletion of a small part of a chromosome.

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL HYPOTHESIS

prenatal or neonatal influences—genetic, environmental, or both—produce abnormalities in the developing brain

TOXOPLASMA GONDII

intermediate risk factor is prenatal or childhood infection with the parasite ___; reproduces only in cats, but it can infect humans and other species also.

SEASON-OF-BIRTH DEFECT

the tendency for people born in winter to have a slightly greater probability of developing schizophrenia than people born at other times of the year.

CYTOKINES

part of the immune system

WISCONSIN CARD SORTING TEST

Suppose someone hands you a shuffled deck of cards that differ in number, color, and shape of objects

PROGRESSIVE DISORDER

one that progresses to worse and worse outcome over time, analogous to Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease.

DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX

an area that shows consistent signs of deficit in schizophrenia, is one of the slowest brain areas to mature.

CHLORPROMAZINE (THORAZINE)

relieves the positive symptoms of schizophrenia for most, though not all, patients

ANTIPSYCHOTIC OR NEUROLEPTIC DRUGS

drugs that tend to relieve schizophrenia and similar conditions

PHENOTHIAZINES

include chlorpromazine

BUTRYOPHENONES

include haloperidol (Haldol)

DOPAMINE HYPOTHESIS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

holds that schizophrenia results from excess activity at dopamine synapses in certain brain areas.

SUBSTANCE-INDUCED PSYCHOTIC DISORDER

characterized by hallucinations and delusions

LSD

produces psychotic symptoms, is best known for its effects on serotonin synapses, but it also stimulates dopamine synapses.

IBZM

binds to type D2 receptors; measuring the radioactivity counts the number of vacant dopamine receptors

AMPT

blocks all synthesis of dopamine and again used IBZM to count the number of vacant D2 receptors; prevented production of dopamine

MESOLIMBOCORTICAL SYSTEM

neurons that project from the midbrain to the limbic system and prefrontal cortex

MESOTRIATAL SYSTEM

projects to the basal ganglia

TARDIVE DYSKINESIA

characterized by tremors and other involuntary movements that develop gradually and to varying degrees among patients

SECOND-GENERATION ANTIPSYCHOTICS (ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOSIS)

reduce the risk of movement problems from 30 percent to 20 percent

CLOZAPINE, AMISULPRIDE, RISPERIDONE, OLANZAPINE, ARIPIPRAZOLE

common antipsychotic drugs

HALOPERIDOL

the second generation antipsychotics have less effect on dopamine receptors but more strongly antagonize serotonin type 5-HT2 receptors

GLUTAMATE HYPOTHESIS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

the problem relates in part to deficient activity at glutamate synapses in the prefrontal cortex

PHENCYCLIDINE (PCP)

"angel dust"; a drug that inhibits the NMDA glutamate receptors.

GLUTAMATE

brain's most widespread transmitter

ASPERGER'S SYNDROME

people with a mild impairment similar to autism, but because Asperger's syndrome differs from autism only in degree

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

considered a rare condition; combines the two; about four times as common in boys as in girls; Deficits in social and emotional exchange, gestures, facial expressions, and other nonverbal communication

FOLIC ACID (VITAMIN B9)

important for development of the nervous system; either from leafy green vegetables and orange juice, or from vitamin pills

RISPERIDONE

a second-generation antipsychotic drug, sometimes reduces the stereotyped behaviors, but at the risk of serious side effects