Psychopathology CH 13

schizophrenia meaning and prevalence

A psychotic disorder in which personal, social, and occupational functioning deteriorate as a result of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor irregularities.

1 in 100

psychosis

A state in which a person loses contact with reality in key ways.

Positive symptoms ("pathological excesses") (types, examples)

Symptoms of schizophrenia that seem to be excesses of or bizarre additions to typical thoughts, emotions, or behaviors.

-delusions, disordered thinking/speech, hallucinations, innapropriate affect

Delusions (types, examples) (persecution, reference, grandeur, control)

A strange false belief firmly held despite evidence to the contrary.

Disordered thinking/speech (types) (loose associations, neologisms, perseveration, clang)

loose associations - A common thinking disturbance in schizophrenia, characterized by rapid shifts from one topic of conversation to another. Also known as derailment.

Hallucinations (description, types, most common) (auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory, olfactory)

The experiencing of sights, sounds, or other perceptions in the absence of external stimuli.

Inappropriate affect

Displays of emotions that are unsuited to the situation.

Negative symptoms ("pathological deficits") (types, examples)

Symptoms of schizophrenia that seem to be deficits in typical thought, emotions, or behaviors.

poverty of speech, blunted and flat affect, loss of volition, social withdrawal

poverty of speech

A decrease in speech or speech content; a symptom of schizophrenia. Also known as alogia

blunted and flat affect

A marked lack of apparent emotions; a symptom of schizophrenia.

loss of volition

A symptom of schizophrenia marked by apathy and an inability to start or complete a course of action.

social withdrawal

Avoidance of social interactions and relationships.

Psychomotor symptoms

-(awkward movements, catatonia)

-catatonia: A pattern of extreme psychomotor symptoms, found in some forms of schizophrenia, which may include catatonic stupor, rigidity, or posturing.

Course of schizophrenia

1. prodromal phase

2. active phase

3. residual phase

prodromal phase schizophrenia

before diagnosis, phase is exemplified by clear evidence of deterioration, social withdrawal, role functioning impairment, peculiar behavior, inappropriate affect, and unusual experiences

active phase schizophrenia

The stage of schizophrenia during which one or more psychotic symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, appear.

residual phase schizophrenia

return to prodromal levels, mild symptoms, impairment of functioning, no delusions or hallucinations

Subtypes of schizophrenia

disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, undifferentiated, residual

disorganized schizophrenia

disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion

catatonic schizophrenia

A type of schizophrenia marked by striking motor disturbances, ranging from muscular rigidity to random motor activity.

paranoid schizophrenia

A type of schizophrenia that is dominated by delusions of persecution along with delusions of grandeur.

undifferentiated schizophrenia

mixture of symptoms and does not meet the diagnostic criteria for any one type of schizophrenia

residual schizophrenia

withdrawal, after hallucinations and delusions have disappeared

Schizophrenia causes

Diathesis-stress model, Genetic factors, Biochemical abnormalities, Abnormal brain structure, Psychodynamic explanation, Sociocultural influences, Family dysfunction

Diathesis-stress model

a diagnostic model that proposes that a disorder may develop when an underlying vulnerability is coupled with a precipitating event

Genetic factors (twin studies)

identical twins more likely to be diagnosed if the other is

Biochemical abnormalities (dopamine hypothesis)

The theory that schizophrenia results from excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

phenothiazines

A group of antihistamine drugs that became the first group of effective antipsychotic medications.

second-generation antipsychotic drugs

A relatively new group of antipsychotic drugs whose biological action is different from that of the first-generation antipsychotic drugs. Also known as atypical antipsychotic drugs.

Abnormal brain structure (specific structures involved)

prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, striatum, and substantia nigra

Psychodynamic explanation

cold or unnurturing parents set schizophrenia in motion (schizophrenic mother)

Sociocultural influences (course and outcome in developed vs. developing countries)

stressors on marginalized groups, such as immigrants

Family dysfunction (double-bind communication, example)

expressed emotion - The general level of criticism, disapproval, and hostility expressed in a family. People recovering from schizophrenia are considered more likely to relapse if their families rate high in expressed emotion.

schizophrenogenic mother

A type of mother — supposedly cold, domineering, and uninterested in the needs of her children — who was once thought to cause schizophrenia in her child.