5.6 psychosis

schizophrenic spectrum disorders

characterized by delusions, hallucinations, not feeling connected to reality

schizophrenia

disorder: delusion, hallucination, disorganized thoughts and actions

positive symptoms

additional experiences not present in healthy individuals

negative symptoms

deficits in emotional and behavioral functions

delusions

false beliefs held even with evidence to disprove it

hallucinations

false sensory experiences without stimuli (ex: hearing voices..)

disorganized thinking or speech

nonsensical speech patterns > jumping between topics, using wrong words..

disorganized motor behavior

abnormal movements => weird posture, agitation

flat affect

reduction in emotional expressiveness => no facial expressions, monotone voice

dopamine hypothesis

schizophrenia is due to imbalance of dopamine activity in brain

dissociative disorders

characterized by disruptions/discontinuities in memory/identity

dissociative amnesia

inability to recall important info about yourself/your past/your life

dissociative identity disorder

presence of two or more personality states/identities