Psych 301, 10/8/3Mental Disorders IIAmusing but serious note:When first learning about mental disorders, nearly all students think they recognize thevarious symptoms in their own behavior. This is known as Medical Student Syndrome:Many symptoms resemble life's normal problems, leaning people studying illnesses to startthinking they have those illnesses. This can at times become a very powerful and disturbingdelusion. I actually spent a great deal of my undergraduate years convinced I had onemental disorder or another. While the disorders we’re discussing do occur in people, and itis important to address them when they do, please keep in mind that your objectivity isseriously limited when learning about these things and applying them to yourself.SchizophreniaA mental disorder with changes in perceptions, emotions,thoughts, and consciousness“Split mind”derived from disconnection of cognition and emotionNO relation to multiple personality disorderSubtypes of schizophrenia [Table 16.3]Two categories of characteristicsPositive symptomsExcesses in functioningInclude delusions and hallucinations [Table 16.4]Negative symptomsDeficits in functioningInclude flat affect, social withdrawal, and reduced speechLoosening of associationsA speech pattern among schizophrenics in which thoughts are disorganized andmeaningless to the listenerBiological factors in schizophreniaSchizophrenia runs in families [Figure 16.11]High twin concordance rate and other genetic indicatorsRate of schizophrenia is similar across culturesPersonality disordersA class of mental disorders marked by inflexible and maladaptiveways of interacting with the worldSubtypes [Table 16.5]Classified in DSM on Axis II, along with mental retardationBecause both are expected to last throughout lifetime with noexpectation of significant changeBorderline personality disorderClinical features [Table 16.6]lack strong sense of selffear of abandonmentmanipulativeemotionally unstableConnected to mood disordershigh rates of mood disorders in familyboth linked to serotoninOften triggered by trauma or abuseAntisocial personality disorderMarked by lack of empathy or remorseShallow interpersonal relationshipsImpulsivity and sensation-seekingBiological indicatorsLow general arousal levelDeficits in frontal lobe functioningChildhood disordersSeparate from adult disorderstake into account normal development [Table 16.7]AutismDevelopmental disorder involvingdeficits in social interactionimpaired communicationrestricted interestsCausal factorsHigh twin concordance rateHigh sibling concordance ratePossible prenatal or neonatal events causing brain dysfunctionLow levels of oxytocinAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderCharacteristicsRestless, inattentive, and impulsive behaviorsRequire repeated explanationsDifficulty processing social cuesCausesGenetic component indicated by familial and twin concordanceFrontal lobes and limbic system [Figure
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