10.5 schizophrenic disorders

schizophrenic spectrum disorders

characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized moto behavior, and negative symptoms, and can be experienced as either acute or chronic conditions

psychosis

mental state characterized by a disconnection from reality

schizophrenia

psychological disorder characterized by persistent delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized motor behavior, and negative symptoms, significantly impairing daily functioning and lasting for a te least six months

positive symptoms

additional behaviors or experiences not present in healthy individuals

delusions

(+) false beliefs strongly held despite clear evidence to contrary

delusions of persecution

involve the false belief that one is being targeted or harassed

delusions of grandeur

involve the false belief in one's exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame

delusions of sin/guilt

false beliefs that you are responsible for bad things happening

delusions of influence

false beliefs that you are controlled by outside forces

hallucinations

(+) false sensory experiences without external stimuli, most commonly involving hearing voices that others do not hear

disorganized thinking/speech

(+) incoherent or nonsensical speech patterns such as jumping between unrelated topics or using words inappropriately, reflecting disordered thought processes

word salad

jumble of words and phrases that are incoherent and lack logical connection, making the speech nearly impossible to understand.

disorganized motor behavior

(+) abnormal or erratic movements, such as excessive agitation, bizarre postures, significantly impacting daily functioning

catatonia

involves disordered movement that can manifest through excitement (+ excessive purposeless motor activity, such as agitation or repetitive movements) or stupor (- lack of movement or response, including unresponsiveness to environment)

waxy flexibility

feature of catatonic schizophrenia in which people rigidly maintain the body position or posture in which they are placed by others

negative symptoms

deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functions

flat affect

(-) severe reduction in emotional expressiveness, where the individual shows little to no facial expression, voice tone, or emotional reaction

alogia

(-) reduced speech output

anhedonia

(-) inability to experience pleasure, loss of interest in enjoyable activities

avolition

(-) lack of motivation to initiate and perform self-directed purposeful activities

dopamine hypothesis

suggests that the disorder is linked to an imbalance of dopamine activity in the brain, with excessive dopamine activity contributing to symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations