Download Ch. 12: Psychological Disorders (page 2)

Ch. 12: Psychological Disorders Page 2
Schizophrenia= profound disruption of basic psychological processes; a distorted perception of reality; altered or blunted
emotion; disturbances on thought, motivation and behavior.
If two or more of the following emerge during a continuous period of at least one month with signs of the disorder
persisting for at least 6 months:
Delusion, hallucination, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms.
Delusion a false belief system that is often bizarre and grandiose, is maintained even if irrational
Hallucination: a false perceptual experience that has a compelling sense of being real despite the absence of external
stimulation (could be tactile, olfactory, visual, auditory)
About 65% of folks with Sz hear voices
Disorganized speech= severe disruption of verbal communication in which ideas shift rapidly and incoherently from one
topic to another in unrelated way
Grossly disorganized behavior  behavior that in inappropriate for the situation or ineffective in attaining goals, often with
specific motor disturbances.
Catatonic behavior  a marked decrease in all movement or an increase in muscular rigidity and overactivity.
Negative symptoms emotional and social withdrawal, apathy, poverty of speech, and other indications of the absence or
insufficiency of normal behavior, motivation ad emotion.
Subtypes of Sz:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Paranoid: having absurd, illogical delusions, hallucinations, paranoia and theme is consistent, grandiose
Catatonic: extreme withdrawal or excitement, talking incoherently, pacing, frenzied behavior.
Disorganized: emotional distortion and blunting, inappropriate laughter, peculiar mannerisms, bizarre behavior.
Undifferentiated: includes most of the above symptoms
Residual: mild indication of Sz shown by individuals in remission following a schizophrenic episode.
Biological Factors
Genetic: the risk increases as biological relatedness increases; concordance rates fhigher for identical twins (48%) than for fraternal
twins (17%) which suggests a genetic component.
Biochemical Factors: in the 1950’s major tranquilizers developed to reduce symptoms of Sz by lowering levels of neurotransmitter
dopamine.
So—developed the Dopamine Hypothesis where Sz involves excess dopamine activity.
Amphetamines increase dopamine levels and aggravate the symptoms of Sz.
Neuroanatomy: we see enlargement of ventricles: hollow areas filled with cerebrospinal fluid in the core of the brain.
In patients with chronic, negative symptoms ventricles are abnormally enlarged. Suggesting a loss of brain tissue mass.