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Unit 3 Notes03/25/14 Schizophreniao Symptoms - Hallucinations - Delusions- Disorganized Speech- Flat Mood and Apathy- Decline in Functioning- Stimulus Overloado Positive vs. Negative Symptomso Positive Symptoms:- Hallucinations, Delusions, - Rapid onset in adolescence or adulthood- Relatively good prognosiso Negative Symptoms:- Flat mood, - Slow onset beginning early- Poor prognosiso Diagnosis has to be made by exclusion- There cant be any other explanation for the symptomso Gender differences- Men diagnosed with the disorder at a younger age Possibly because men are more likely to have negative symptoms - Estrogen may protect women from the symptomso Social class differences- More likely to be diagnosed if you are in the lower class Downward social drift Bias in making the diagnosis Poorer treatment (no healthy insurance) Problems during pregnancy and birtho Ethnicity - Rates appear to be the same across cultures- Differences appear to be due to differences in definitions of symptoms “Ghost Sickness”o Early Psychological Explanations- Bad/Inconsistent mothering “Schizophrenogenic Mothers”- Learning of symptoms Can not use a cognitive approach to change an individuals symptomso Physiological Approaches- Due to high levels of dopamine in the nerve tracts that carry activity to the brain- High brain activity - Positive symptoms- Electrical activity for the brain- High levels of activity in the cortexo How was the role of dopamine discovered?- The accidental discovery that Thorazine (Cholorapromazine) reduced the symptoms of schizophrenia - Reduced levels of dopamine- Antihistamines o Evidence for the dopamine explanation- Drugs that reduce dopamine activity reduce symptoms- Drugs that increase dopamine activity increase symptomso Role of brain activity in hallucinations- Stimulation of cell assemblies that contain memories or thoughts- The Case of the Woman Who Heard The Choir Singing White Christmaso Other explanation for schizophrenia- Brain damage (cortex and ventricles)- Damages reduces brain activity which leads to negative symptomso Hippocampus  Memory- Emptyo Amygdala Emotions- Flat moodo The Role of Genetics- 1% in the population- 2% to 6% among cousins- 8% to 14% among siblings- Almost 70% if both parents suffer from the disordero Evidence based on rates in adopted children- The likelihood of your developing schizophrenia is determined by who gave you your genes, not who raised youo The role of biological traumas- The “Season of Birth Effect” If there is an epidemic of influenza that occurs in late fall/early winter, the individual that gets pregnant at that time is more likely to give birth to a child that is more likely to suffer from schizophrenia if the mother has the flu- Inadequate diet during pregnancy- The polio virus- Maybe insufficient levels of vitamin A Problems during pregnancy Prolonged or difficult labor Mother’s high blood pressure Reduced oxygen during birth Use of forceps- More traumas lead to earlier onset of schizophrenia and more severe symptoms Evidence for traumas comes from physical abnormalities Malformed ears Webbed toes and fingers Unusual eye folds- Blows to the head during childhood Why is the onset of the disorder delayed? Takes awhile for the traumas to set ino The role of psychological stress in positive symptoms- Stress increases the activity of the limbic system- Stress is most likely to influence individuals who already have a predispositiono Treatmentso Physiological - Neuroleptic Drugs Block dopamine receptors - Effective for treating positive symptoms Original neuroleptics Thorazine and Haldol The problem of tardive dyskinesia Atypical Neuroleptics Clozaril*, Risperidal, Zyprexia, Seroquel, Geodon, Abilify Block more receport sites in nerve tracts leading to the cortex but fewer in the motor control area Disorders appearing first in infancy, childhood or adolescence o Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)- Occurrence: 5% of school age children- Three to ten times more common in males than females- Occurs in adults as wello Symptoms: - Inattention - Hyperactivity/impulsiveness- Other problems such as lack of friends, drug abuse, school drop out, criminal behavior, depression, poor intellectual functioningo Making the diagnosis- Self diagnosis- “I’m doing poorly” Questionnaires and rating scales Computerized tests The Holmes test: try medso Causes and Treatments- The learning approach Failure to learn control Behavior therapy Effects to not generalize - The physiological approach Underactivity in the brain Prefrontal cortex (attention controlled) Premotor cortex (motor behavior controlled)- Low levels of dopamine Low dopamine reduces brain activity  Link to depression- Why low dopamine? Genetics (dopamine transporter gene) Biological vs. adopted children- About 80% of cases are due to genetic factors- Other 20% comes from Biological traumas:  Mothers who smoked, had infections, used alcohol or were exposed to high stress during pregnancy - ADHD and food additives  Coloring of food does NOT - Medication: Stimulants:  Ritalin and Concerta (methylphenidates) Adderall and Dexedrine (dextroamphetimes) These drugs increase dopamine levelso Autistic Disorder- Symptoms:  Impairments in social interactions Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors Impairments in communication Language functioning by age five usually determines whether they have autism - The debate over the incidence of Autism 1994: 0.04% of children  Recent: 0.60% of children Debated that there was an epidemic of Autism - Reasons for the apparent increase:  The definition of the disorder was greatly widened Prior to 1994, each of eight symptoms was necessary.  After 1994, six of 14 symptoms were necessary There is increased public and professional attention to the disorder- The causes: Bad parenting “Refrigerator Mothers” so the children turned away and withdrew into themselves for comfort and stimulation  (Bettelheim school- was FAKE) Problems with brain development and damage Brain size: too small and then too big Cerebellum: problems there may be linked to problems with muscle control and speech problems The temporal lobes: right lobe larger and dominant. Boys with language problems had right lobes that were 27% larger Problems


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KU PSYC 350 - Unit 3 Notes

Course: Psyc 350-
Pages: 7
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