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Treatment of Schizophrenia Drug Therapies Pre-Drug Therapy • Prior to the discovery of psychological drugs, hospitals had few options with which to treat patients • Most early treatment techniques are today considered archaic and sometimes cruel Post-Drug Therapy • With the discovery of effective drug treatments, patients were able to leave the institutions (deinstitutionalization). Deinstitutionalization • The release of patients from mental hospitals to the community at large • The development of drug therapies led to an 80% decline in the number of hospitalized mental patients from 1950 to 2000. • Many of the former patients became part of the homeless population. Biomedical Therapies • Widespread use of antipsychotic medications began in the mid-1950’s • Can be related to number of patients in mental hospitals Drug Therapies: Antipsychotic Drugs Antipsychotic Drugs • A category of medications used primarily to treat schizophrenia • Reduces the levels of hallucinations and delusions and distorted thinking • Drugs work primarily by blocking the activity of dopamine • 2 Types: Typical and Atypical Typical Antipsychotic Medications • Typical antipsychotics (Thorazine) – Effective against positive symptoms of schizophrenia – Have uncomfortable side effects – Globally reduce brain dopamine levels • Side effects include: dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, and tardive dyskinesia • Tardive dyskinesia – a permanent condition of muscle tremors Thorazine • One of the first antipsychotic drugs Schizophrenia Drug Therapy • Insert “Schizophrenia” Video #34 from Worth’s Digital Media Archive for Psychology. (5:15) • How does Augustine’s behavior change after 4 weeks on medication? Click HERE to view in a separate window (5 min). Shorter version: Effectiveness of these drugs with a schizophrenic (2 min) Drawbacks of Antipsychotic Medications • The early antipsychotics didn’t actually cure schizophrenia; psychotic symptoms often returned if a person stopped taking the medication • They were not effective in eliminating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia • They often produced unwanted side effects • They globally altered brain levels of dopamine, sometimes producing motor-related side effects; longterm use can cause tardive dyskinesia • Patients go through a “revolving door” pattern of hospitalization, discharge, and rehospitalization • View some of the Drawbacks of Antipsychotic Drugs (1 min) Atypical Antipsychotic Medications • Newer drugs that may also be effective against negative symptoms of schizophrenia • Affect levels of serotonin as well as dopamine • Much less likely to cause movement-related side effects because they block dopamine brain receptors far more selectively • Produce (sometimes dramatic) improvement in a significant proportion of patients who have not responded to traditional antipsychotic drugs