FINALS 3 - Schizophrenia - Psychopharmacology

Dopamine

a neurotransmitter that is theorized as one of the most enduring yet controversial cause of schizophrenia

Antipsychotic medications

points to the possibility that the dopamine system is too active in people with schizophrenia

D1 or D2

types of dopamine sites where attention is focused in schizophrenia

• antipsychotic drugs (neurotics)

• neuroleptic drugs

• L-dopa

• Amphetamines

In a story that resembles a mystery plot, several pieces of “circumstantial evidence” are clues to the role of dopamine in schizophrenia:

Antipsychotic drugs (neurotics)

often effective in treating people with schizophrenia are dopamine antagonists, partially blocking the brain’s use of dopamine

insufficient dopamine

These neuroleptic drugs can produce negative side effects similar to those in Parkinson’s disease, a disorder known to be caused by ________ ______

L-dopa

a dopamine agonist used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease

• produces schizophrenia-like symptoms in some people

Amphetamines

which also active in dopamine

• can make psychotic symptoms worse in some people with schizophrenia

Increase dopamine (agonists)

there is an increase in schizophrenic behavior

Decrease dopamine (antagonist)

schizophrenic symptoms tend to diminish

excessive dopamine activity

Taking these observations together, researchers theorized that schizophrenia in some people was attributed to _______ _______ ______

• not helped

• neuroleptics

• partly helpful

Despite the observations listed above, some evidence contradicts the dopamine theory:

1. A significant number of people with schizophrenia are _______ by the use of dopamine antagonists

2. Although the _______ block the reception of dopamine quite quickly, the relevant symptoms subside only after several days or weeks, more slowly than we would expect

3. These drugs are only ________ in reducing the negative symptoms (ex: flat affect or anhedonia) of schizophrenia

Bleuler and Kraepelin

Although pioneers in the field of schizophrenia in the early 20th century, such as ______&_______

• believed schizophrenia results from an organic brain disorder, this underlying pathology is still unclear

• brain damage

• altered reflexes & eye movement peculiarities

The negative symptoms seen in schizophrenia are similar to those often seen following ____ _______

• and are often accompanied by clear neurological symptoms and signs, such as: _______ & _______

Enlarged cerebral ventricles in right hemisphere

Post mortem examinations of the brain of people with schizophrenia revealed that they frequently had ______ ______ ______, particularly in the ____ _______

Third ventricle

A review of imaging studies reported that 80% of studies find ventricular enlargement mostly of the ___ _______

Third ventricle

is in the diencephalon, adjacent to the thalamus and hypothalamus

medial temporal lobes

Abnormalities of the _____ ______ _____, including the amygdala, the hippocampus and temporal cortex, were found in 74% of studies

prefrontal and orbitofrontal regions

67% reported frontal lobe involvement, particularly _______&__________

Schizophrenia

These regions are associated with various emotion, memory, and language functions, and this could account for the variety of symptoms in ________

• third ventricle

• medial temporal lobes

• prefrontal & orbitofrontal regions

Studies:

• 80% =

• 74% =

• 67% =

environmental factors

While some of the abnormalities might be directly attributed to genetic factors,

• another possibility is that the result from a genetically based susceptibility to damage from ______ ____