schizophrenia

• positive symptoms of schizophrenia

  hallucinations: unusual sensory experience

  delusions: paranoid and irrational beliefs
• negative symptoms 


  speech poverty: reduction in the quality and amount of speech

  avolition: finding it difficult to keep up with goal-directed behaviours
• What does good reliability in diagnosis mean?

  Same diagnosis for all patients with same symptoms
• What did Osario et al. find regarding diagnosis reliability?


  Excellent reliability for diagnosis in 180 participants
• What did Cheniaux et al. (2009) discover about schizophrenia diagnoses?


  Differences between DSM and ICD diagnoses
• What were the diagnosis rates for schizophrenia using DSM and ICD according to Cheniaux et al.?

  DSM: 68/100, ICD: 39/100
• What is co-morbidity in relation to schizophrenia?


  Schizophrenia is often diagnosed with other conditions
• How does co-morbidity affect the validity of schizophrenia diagnosis?

  Questions the validity of schizophrenia as a distinct condition
• What is the gender bias ratio in schizophrenia diagnosis?

  1.4:1 ratio of men to women
• Why might women be diagnosed with schizophrenia less frequently?

  Women have closer relationships and better functioning
• How do cultural biases affect schizophrenia diagnosis?

  Symptoms have different meanings in different cultures
• What is symptom overlap in relation to schizophrenia?

  Considerable overlap with other conditions like bipolar
• What are the key issues in the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia?

  • Good reliability: consistent diagnosis across patients
  • Low validity: differences in DSM and ICD diagnoses
  • Co-morbidity: often diagnosed with other conditions
  • Gender bias: 1.4:1 ratio of men to women
  • Cultural bias: symptoms vary across cultures
  • Symptom overlap: significant overlap with bipolar disorder
• family studies for the genetic basis of schizophrenia

  risk for schizophrenia increases the line with an increased genetic similarity of the affected relative.

  Gottesman (1991) conducted a large scale and found:

  • 2% risk of developing schizophrenia if there is an affected aunt
  • 9% if there's an affected sibling
  • 48% if there's an affected identical twin

  these are correlational studies that represent environment and genes.
• candidate genes for the genetic basis of schizophrenia

  schizophrenia is polygenetic. Ripke et al (2014) combined data from genome-wide studies and found. 37000 people with schizophrenic people were compared with 113000 controls. 108 separate genetic variations were found to be associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia.
• the role of mutation in the genetic basis for schizophrenia

  the mutation of paternal DNA from radiation, poison, or viral infection. Brown et al (2002) positive correlation between paternal age and schizophrenia, 0.7% for fathers under 25 to 2% for fathers over 50
• the dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia

  based on drug treatment for schizophrenia with Parkinson's disease symptoms which are associated with low dopamine levels. schizophrenia is a result of hypodopaminergia in subcortical areas of the brain. Davis et al (1991) cortical hypodopaminergia can explain negative symptoms of schizophrenia. It's suggested that hypodopaminergia causes hyperdomapinergia.
• What do adoption studies by Tienari (2004) suggest about schizophrenia?

  They indicate a biological basis for schizophrenia
• What was the concordance rate for monozygotic twins found by Hilker (2018)?


  33%
• What was the concordance rate for dizygotic twins found by Hilker (2018)?

  7%
• How do amphetamines relate to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia?

  They increase dopamine and worsen symptoms
• What effect do antipsychotics targeting dopamine receptors have on schizophrenia symptoms?

  They reduce positive symptoms
• What environmental factors can contribute to the development of schizophrenia?

  Birth complications and smoking THC-rich cannabis
• What role does glutamate play in schizophrenia according to studies?

  Raised levels are found in schizophrenic individuals
• What evidence supports the biological explanations for schizophrenia?

  • Adoption studies by Tienari (2004)
  • Concordance rates: 33% for monozygotic twins, 7% for dizygotic twins (Hilker, 2018)
  • Dopamine hypothesis: amphetamines worsen symptoms, antipsychotics reduce positive symptoms
  • Environmental factors: birth complications, THC-rich cannabis
  • Role of glutamate: raised levels in schizophrenic individuals
• schizophrenegenic mother as an explanation for schizophrenia

  Fromm-Reichman (1948) a psychodynamic explanation for schizophrenia. the schizophrenegenic mother is cold, rejecting, and controlling. this creates a tense and secretive family atmosphere, which later develops into paranoid delusions and schizophrenia
• double-bind as an explanation for schizophrenia

  Bateson et al. (1972), when a child regularly finds themselves in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing but receive mixed messages about what the wrong thing is, when they do get something wrong they're punished with a withdrawal of love. this makes them confused which is reflected in symptoms such as disorganised thinking and paranoid delusions
• expressed emotion as an explanation for schizophrenia

  negative emotions expressed to a person with schizophrenia by carers who tend to be family members. this can be in the form of verbal criticism and violence, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement with needless self-sacrifice. this causes for the schizophrenic individual
• meta-representation dysfunction as an explanation for schizophrenia

  Frith et al. (1992) a disruption in our ability to recognise our thoughts and behavior as our own rather than being done by someone else. this explains hallucinations and delusions like thought insertion
• central control dysfunction

  Frith et al. identified issues with an ability to suppress automatic responses when carrying out deliberate action. this explains disorganised speech
• What did Read et al. (2005) find about adults with schizophrenia?

  They are likely to have insecure attachment types
• What percentage of women with schizophrenia experienced sexual abuse according to Read et al. (2005)?

  69%
• What percentage of men with schizophrenia experienced sexual abuse according to Read et al. (2005)?

  59%
• What is a limitation of traditional family-based theories of schizophrenia?

  They lack systematic evidence support
• What cognitive task did Stirling et al. (2006) use in their research?

  Stroop test
• What was the finding of Stirling et al. (2006) regarding people with schizophrenia?

  They took longer on average in the Stroop test
• What does the term "proximal explanation" refer to in the context of schizophrenia?

  It explains symptoms but not their origins
• What do cognitive theories of schizophrenia offer according to the study material?

  They provide only a partial explanation
• what drugs are used to treat schizophrenia?

  typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics
• what are typical antipsychotics

  chlorpromazine can be taken as a tablet, syrups, or injections with a maximum dosage of 1000mg but typically 400 to 800mg doses are administered