Classification of schizophrenia

• Define schizophrenia

  A type of psychosis characterised by a profound disruption of cognition and emotion, hallucinations and delusions
• true or false? schizophrenia is the most common psychosis

  true
• what two main things does a schizophrenic experience?

  • delusions
  • hallucinations
• What diagnostic manual would a clinician use to diagnose schiz?

  DSM (in Europe they use ICD)
• what is meant by positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

  appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions
• State all the positive symptoms of schizophrenia

  • Hallucinations
  • Delusions
  • Disorganised speech
  • Catatonic behaviour
• describe what is meant by hallucinations and provide an example

  • unreal perceptions of the environment that are usually auditory, but may also be visual, olfactory or tactile (feeling things others can’t)
  • Eg- hearing voices telling them to do something or commenting on their behaviour
• describe what is meant by delusions and provide an example

  • bizarre beliefs that seem real to the schizophrenic, but they aren't real. caused by distortions of reasoning or misinterpretations of perceptions/experiences
  • eg- believe someone is following them, that they are famous or have special powers
  • can have delusions of grandeur or reference
• what are delusions of grandeur?

  inflated beliefs about one's own importance, power, or identity. (eg, believing they are famous)
• what are delusions of reference?

  belief that events in the environment are directly related to them- eg special messages being communicated to them through TV
• describe what is meant by disorganised speech and provide an example

  • result of abnormal thought processes, where the individual has problems organising their thoughts and it shows up in speech
  • Eg- slipping from one topic to another mid sentence
• describe what is meant by catatonic behaviour and provide an example

  • inability to initiate a task or complete one once it has been started. acting in ways which appear bizarre to people, abnormal motor movements/facial expressions
  • Eg- decreased interest in personal hygiene, wearing heavy clothes on a hot day, moving in a frenzied way, copying movements of others
  • any movement related actions which lead to difficulties in daily living
• what is meant by negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

  those which reflect a reduction or loss in normal functions, which persist even during periods of low positive symptoms
• What is meant by the deficit syndrome?

  • Enduring at least 2 negative symptoms for 12 mths or longer
  • Individuals with the deficit syndrome tend to have more pronounced cognitive deficits and poorer outcomes than patients who don’t have it
• state all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

  • speech poverty (alogia)
  • avolition
  • affective flattening
  • anhedonia
• describe what is meant by alogia and provide an example

  • lessening of speech fluency and productivity, thought to reflect slowing or blocked thoughts
  • Eg- producing fewer words In a given time on a task of verbal fluency
• describe what is meant by avolition and provide an example

  • reduction of interests and desires as well as inability to initiate and persist in goal directed behaviour
  • Eg- self initiated involvement in activities reduced that would otherwise be available to the patient
• what is meant by affective flattening? provide an example

  • reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression. fewer body facial movement and co verbal behaviour compared to controls
  • Eg- lack of pausing /tempo/intonation
• what is meant by anhedonia?

  loss of interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities/lack of reactivity to normally pleasurable stimuli , may be pervasive (felt all the time) or confined to a certain aspect of experience
• what is physical anhedonia

  inability to experience physical pleasures (Eg- pleasure from food or bodily contact)
• what is social anhedonia?

  inability to experience pleasure from interpersonal situations like interacting with other people
• why is physical anhedonia a more reliable symptom of schizophrenia

  • doesn’t overlap with any other disorder
  • social anhedonia has symptom overlap with other disorders like depression
• what are the minimum number of symptoms that need to exist within a person before they are diagnosed with schizophrenia?

  • 2
  • of any positive symptom, or negative symptoms in general