Psychiatric Disorders and Treatments

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to psychiatric disorders, their symptoms, treatment options, and important observations noted in the lecture.

Psychosis

A mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality, including hallucinations and delusions.

Schizophrenia

A severe mental disorder marked by disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior.

Hallucinations

Sensory experiences that appear real but are created by the mind.

Delusions

Fixed false beliefs that are resistant to reason or confrontation with actual facts.

Disorganized Speech

Incoherent or nonsensical speech often seen in schizophrenia.

Negative Symptoms

Symptoms that reflect a decrease in normal functions, such as flat affect and lack of motivation.

Schizophreniform Disorder

A diagnosis that includes the same symptoms as schizophrenia but lasts less than 6 months.

5 A's of Negative Symptoms

Anhedonia, Flat affect, Alogia, Avolition, Attention (poor).

Akathisia

An inner feeling of restlessness that manifests as an inability to remain still.

Prefrontal Cortex

The brain region implicated in negative symptoms and activities involving motivation and cognition.

Mesolimbic Pathway

The brain pathway linked to positive symptoms associated with excessive dopaminergic activity.

Tuberoinfundibular Pathway

A dopamine pathway that, when blocked by antipsychotics, can lead to hyperprolactinemia.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS)

A serious side effect of antipsychotics characterized by muscle rigidity and autonomic instability.

Extrapyramidal Symptoms (EPS)

Drug-induced movement disorders caused by antipsychotic medications, including dystonia and parkinsonism.

Serotonin Syndrome

A potentially life-threatening condition caused by excessive serotonergic activity.

Schizoaffective Disorder

A disorder with mood symptoms and schizophrenia-like symptoms occurring concurrently.

Brief Psychotic Disorder

A condition with symptoms similar to schizophrenia but lasting from 1 day to 1 month.

Delusional Disorder

A condition characterized by the presence of one or more delusions lasting at least 1 month.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

A mood disorder marked by persistent feeling of sadness, loss of interest, and various emotional and cognitive symptoms.

SIGECAPS

An acronym for the symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder: Sleep, Interest, Guilt, Energy, Concentration, Appetite, Psychomotor activity, Suicide.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A treatment for severe depression that involves inducing seizures in anesthetized patients.

Black Box Warning

A warning issued by the FDA indicating that a drug may cause serious or life-threatening effects.

Clozapine

An atypical antipsychotic medication with a risk of agranulocytosis.

SSRIs

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the first-line treatment for depression.