Download Module 23: Mood Disorders & Schizophrenia

Virginia Union University
Introduction to Psychology
 Serious
mental disorder that lasts for at
least 6 months and includes 2 of the
following symptoms that interfere with
personal & social functioning:
• Delusions (irrational beliefs)
• Hallucinations (sensory experiences without any
stimulation from the environment)
• Disorganized speech, behavior & thought
• Emotional disorders
• Motor disorders
3
of the most common
• Paranoid schizophrenia
• Disorganized schizophrenia
• Catatonic schizophrenia
 Paranoid
schizophrenia
• Characterized by auditory
hallucinations/delusions (e.g., thoughts of being
persecuted by thoughts/thoughts of grandeur)
 Disorganized
schizophrenia
• Marked by bizarre ideas, often about one’s body,
confused speech, childish behavior, emotional
swings & often extreme neglect of personal
appearance & personal hygiene
 Catatonic
schizophrenia
• Characterized by periods of wild excitement or
periods of rigid, prolonged immobility;
sometimes the person assumes the same frozen
posture for hours on end
 Chances of recovery
• Depends on symptoms
• Different symptoms for different type of
schizophrenia (2 types)
 Type 1 Schizophrenia
 Positive symptoms (the presence of something)
 Hallucinations/delusions, no intellectual impairment, good
reaction to medicine, good chance of recovery
 Type 2 Schizophrenia
 Negative symptoms (the absence of something)
 Dulled emotions, little inclination to speak, intellectual
impairments, poor reaction to medicine, poor chance of
recovery
• Best predictor of recovery – positive symptoms
 Causes
that interact in the development
of schizophrenia
• Biological causes
• Neurological causes
• Environmental causes
 Biological causes
• Genetic predisposition
 Supported by twin studies (48-83% chance of developed
schizophrenia)
 Genetic markers – identifiable gene or number of genes or
a specific segment of a chromosome that is directly linked
to some behavioral, physiological, or neurological trait or
disease
 Schizophrenia said to depend on a combination of genes
• Infections
 Pregnant women who get the flu more likely to have
children who will develop schizophrenia
 Childhood infections can contribute to schizophrenia risk
(esp. those that affect the brain)

Neurological causes
• Ventricle size
 Fluid filled cavities in the brain that help to cushion the brain & serve as a
reservoir for nutrients & hormones
 Ventricles larger than normal in up to 80% of schizophrenics
• Frontal lobe: prefrontal cortex
 Part of the brain involved in executive functions, like reasoning & planning
 Prefrontal cortex less activated in the brains of schizophrenics
• Frontal & temporal lobes may be smaller due to fewer brain cells &
connections
• Neurotransmitters
 Dopamine theory – dopamine neurotransmitter system is somehow
overactive & gives rise to a wide range of symptoms
 Treatment
• Neuroleptic (antipsychotic) drugs – change the
levels of neurotransmitters in the brain
 Two kinds
 Typical
 Primarily reduce levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine
 Drugs mainly reduce positive symptoms & have little effect on
negative symptoms
 20% of schizophrenics not helped by typical neuroleptics
 Atypical (newer drugs)
 Lower levels of dopamine & other neurotransmitters, like
serotonin
 Drugs primarily reduce positive symptoms, may reduce negative
symptoms, and prevent relapse
 Evaluation of neuroleptic drugs
• Phenothiazines (typical neuroleptic)
 Widely prescribed to treat schizophrenia
 Can produce unwanted motor movements called tardive
dyskinesia – risk increases with use
• Only 20-30% of schizophrenics showed good
outcomes 2-12 years after treatment
• 60% of patients taken off a typical neuroleptic
experienced a relapse (compared to 34% of those
maintained on an atypical neuroleptic)
 Evaluation of atypical neuroleptic drugs
• Caused tardive dyskinesia in only about 5% of
patients (compared to 1-29% of patients on typical
neuroleptics)
• Other side effects include inc. levels of cholesterol,
glucose, blood sugar, weight gain, worsening
diabetes, etc.
• As effective in reducing pos. symptoms, more
effective in reducing neg. symptoms, less likely to
cause tardive dyskinesia & more effective in
preventing relapse