Mental Disorders

Question 0

what are mental disorders in general?

Answer 0

exaggerations of normal behaviours and/or other behaviours which are not apparent in normal behaviour

Question 1

how are psychiatric disorders categorised ?

Answer 1

overlapping categories
psychosis (no insight)- disabling neurosis (insight but life affected)- normal
they are a massive range

Question 2

what are psychoses?

Answer 2

1- schizophrenia= flattened mood, 1% pop
2- affective disorders= exaggerated mood, depression, mania, bipolar depression, lifetime risk 10%
3- organic= result of injury- trauma, alcoholism

Question 3

what are neuroses?

Answer 3

poorly defined but include
- anxiety states= worry, fear, out of proportion
-phobic reactions= claustrophobia, agoraphobia
-depressive reactions= milder than depression, clear insight
often a combination

Question 4

how much of the pop is affected by neuroses and who are more likely to suffer?

Answer 4

3-10%

more in patients with mental disorders with increased risk with each episode

Question 5

what are the causes of psychiatric disorders?

Answer 5

sometimes physical injury- rare
familial component/genetic factor
environmental/sociological changes

Question 6

what are psychiatric disorders reflected in ?

Answer 6

neurotransmission changes

Question 7

how are psychiatric disorders measured?

Answer 7

psychiatric tests/symptoms
neurochemical markers
theories are not very justifiable

Question 8

how can mental disorders be diagnosed?

Answer 8

dependent onn observed symptoms
-hamilton depression rating scale - HAM-D
- diagnostic and statistical manual of the mental disorders - DSM-IV
- international classification of diseases - ICD10
these are used to help treat the patient

Question 9

what changes does the DSM-V propose (2013))?

Answer 9

PERSISTENT DEPRESSIVE DISORDER- encompasses both chronic major depressive disorders and dysthymia
REMOVAL OF THE MAJOR DEPRESSION BEREAVEMENT EXCLUSION- leaves more leeway for clinical judgement
NEW CATEGORY OF MIXED ANXIETY/DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS

Question 10

What is dysthymia?

Answer 10

persistent mild depression

Question 11

what are the conditions of depression termed as?

Answer 11

major depresssive disorders or major depression, often MDD

Question 12

how is depression classified?

Answer 12

sad, depressed mood everyday for min of 2 weeks and loss of pleasure(anhedonia)
+4 of the following
- disruption of sleep, concentration and appetite
- recurrent thoughts of death, suicide
- negative self concept
- loss of energy, fatigue
- reactive or endogenous - not clear distinction and not generally recognised

Question 13

what is mania (and hypomania)?

Answer 13

excessive reactions
excessive motor activity, exuberance, enthusiasm
irritability, impatience, anger
grandiose illusions

Question 14

what is bipolar depression ?

Answer 14

swings between depression and mania

hereditary link- more sever cases tend to be genetic

Question 15

what is anxiety ?

Answer 15

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS= feeling worried, nervous and agitated
often linked to aggression
SOMATIC AND AUTONOMIC EFFECTS= tachycardia, sweating, sleep disorder and tense muscles
ASSOCIATED DISORDERS= phobias and panic attacks
huge overlap with depression - arrested flight behaviour

Question 16

what is schizophrenia ?

Answer 16

• massive area of CNS disorder research because so little is understood
• major impact on health
• progressive illness and serious consequences
  overlap in AD because of the cognitive deficits

Question 17

what does SCHIZO stand for and what does phrenia stand for ?

Answer 17

cleave/split

the mind

Question 18

in general what is schizophrenia?

Answer 18

psychiatric disorder- group of illnesses
most severe and least understood
symptomatic onset in early adulthood and persists throughout life

Question 19

what are the major problems with schizophrenia?

Answer 19

• patients cant have a normal life- its very difficult to manage
• no cure
• drugs for treatment are often not effective
• affects people in prime of life (20-39 years)
• cause isnt really known
• expensive on health care- 2-3 billion

Question 20

which sex is more likely to suffer from schizophrenia?

Answer 20

males and females are equally affected

females have 2 peaks at 20 years ad 50 years(menopause)- thought that estrogen has a protective effect

Question 21

what is the incidence of schizophrenia ?

Answer 21

1.2% in most developed countries

250000 in uk

Question 22

how many people die from schizophrenia?

Answer 22

10% due to suicide

Question 23

what are the risk factors of schizophrenia?

Answer 23

genetic- 1% of pop, 10% heritable risk if its a close relative and 46% risk if both parents are affected and 50% concordance in identical twins
environmental exposure in brain development- toxins, viruses, brain damage
combination of factors - likely that environmental determine whether the genetic factors are expressed

Question 24

who are more likely to develop schizophrenia due to environmental factors ?

Answer 24

babies born in the winter

babies which suffered a traumatic birth

Question 25

what are the symptoms of schizophrenia ?

Answer 25

positive- type 1
negative -type 2
cognitive impairment

Question 26

what are the positive symptoms?

Answer 26

hallucinations- aural, visual (especially aural- voices in head)
delusions-persecution complex- paranoia
inappropriate emotions and actions

these are often seen in younger patients

Question 27

what are the negative symptoms?

Answer 27

apathy
depression
social incompetence
loss of insight- dont recognise your own illness

Question 28

what are the cognitive impairments?

Answer 28

attention
memory
executive functions
lack of coordinating thoughts
older patients often express these 
postitve usually give way to these

Question 29

what neurochemical systems are affected in schizophrenia?

Answer 29

glutamate system is underactive

dopamine system is overeactive

Question 30

why is it different from other disorders?

Answer 30

its dependent upon the maturation of the brain during development
therefore it isnt caused by decline in age