Chapter 14: Psychiatric Disorders

Addiction

Dependence on a substance characterized by decreasing pleasures and increasing risks as the addiction progresses.

Agonists

Drugs that mimic or increase the effects of a neurotransmitter.

Antagonists

Drugs that block receptors at synapses.

Efficacy

The tendency of a drug to activate a receptor.

Predisposition

An individual's likelihood of developing addiction due to genetic or environmental factors.

Genetic Influences

Evidence from twin studies showing a strong influence of genetics on vulnerability to addiction.

Environmental Influences

Factors such as prenatal alcohol exposure or parental supervision that can affect an individual's likelihood of developing addiction.

Cravings

An insistent search for an activity, often experienced by addicts.

Tolerance

A phenomenon when the effects of a drug decrease over time, requiring larger doses to achieve the same effect.

Withdrawal

The body's reaction to the absence of a drug, often resulting in negative physiological symptoms.

Antidepressants

Drugs used to treat depression and other mood disorders, including SSRIs and tricyclics.

Bipolar Disorder

A mood disorder characterized by alternating episodes of depression and mania.

Positive Symptoms

Behaviors that are present that should be absent in schizophrenia.

Negative Symptoms

Behaviors that are absent that should be present in schizophrenia.

Cognitive Symptoms

Limitations of thought and reasoning common in schizophrenia.

Dopamine Hypothesis

The theory that schizophrenia is linked to excess activity at certain dopamine synapses.

Glutamate Hypothesis

The idea that schizophrenia results from deficient activity at certain glutamate synapses.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

A range of developmental disorders characterized by social communication difficulties and restricted, repetitive behaviors.

Risperidone

An antipsychotic drug used to help manage stereotyped behaviors in autism.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A medical treatment for severe depression involving electric shocks to the brain to induce seizures.

Research suggests that the brain abnormalities of schizophrenics develop ____.

early and then remain fairly steady

Which symptoms are the most likely side effects of tricyclic antidepressants?

drowsiness and dry mouth

Hallucinations, delusions, and grossly disorganized behavior are classified as which kind of symptoms?

positive symptoms

What is the difference between positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms?

Behaviors that are present versus behaviors that are absent

Atypical antipsychotic drugs alleviate schizophrenia with fewer side effects than other drugs because they ____.

more strongly antagonize serotonin type 5-HT2 receptors