Schizophrenia Key Terms Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Schizophrenia Key Terms Deck (23)
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1
Q

Schizophrenia

A

A severe mental illness where contact with reality and insight are impaired

2
Q

Classification of Mental Disorder

A

The process of organising symptoms into categories based on which symptoms cluster together in sufferers

3
Q

Positive Symptoms

A

Atypical symptoms experienced in addition to normal experiences. They include hallucinations and delusions

4
Q

Hallucination

A

A positive symptom. They are sensory experiences of stimuli that either have no basis in reality or are distorted perceptions of things that are there

5
Q

Delusions

A

A positive symptom. They involve beliefs that have no basis in reality

6
Q

Negative Symptoms

A

Atypical experiences that represent the loss of a usual experience

7
Q

Speech Poverty

A

A negative symptom. It involves reduced frequency and quality of speech

8
Q

Avolition

A

A negative symptom. It involves loss of motivation to carry out tasks and results in lowered activity levels

9
Q

Co-Morbidity

A

The occurrence of two illness or conditions together, where the two conditions are frequently diagnosed together, it call into question the validity of classifying the disorders separately

10
Q

Symptom Overlap

A

Occurs when two or more conditions share symptoms. This can call into question the validity of classifying the disorders separately

11
Q

Genetics

A

Genes consist of DNA strands. DNA produce instructions for general physical features of an organisms, and also specific physical features. These may impact psychological features. Genes are inherited

12
Q

Dopamine

A

A neurotransmitter that generally has an excitatory effect and is associated with the sensation of pleasure, Unusually high levels are associated with schizophrenia and unusually low levels are associated with Parkinson’s disease

13
Q

Neural Correlates

A

Patterns of structure or activity in the brain that occurs in conjunction with an experience and may be implicated in the origins of that experience

14
Q

Family Dysfunction

A

Abnormal processes within a family such as poor communication, cold parenting and high levels of expressed emotion

15
Q

Dysfunctional Thought Processing

A

A general term meaning information processing that is not functioning normally and produces undesirable consequences

16
Q

Antipsychotics

A

Drugs used to reduce the intensity of symptoms, in particular the positive symptoms, of psychotic conditions

17
Q

Typical Antipsychotics

A

The first generation of antipsychotic drugs. They work as dopamine antagonists and include chlorpromazine

18
Q

Atypical Antipsychotics

A

Drugs for schizophrenia developed after typical antipsychotics. They typically target a range of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin

19
Q

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

A

A method for treating mental disorders based on both cognitive and behavioural techniques. It aims to deal with challenging negative thoughts

20
Q

Family Therapy

A

A psychological therapy carried out with all or some members of a family with the aim of improving their communications and reducing the stress of living as a family

21
Q

Token Economy

A

A form of behavioural therapy where desirable behaviours are encouraged by the use if selective reinforcement

22
Q

The Interactionist Approach

A

A broad approach to explaining schizophrenia, which acknowledges that a range of factors, including biological and psychological factors, are involved in the development of schizophrenia

23
Q

The Diathesis-Stress Model

A

An interactionist approach to explaining behaviour. Schizophrenia can be explained as the result of both an underlying vulnerability and a trigger, both which are necessary to cause schizophrenia. Genes and traumas are seen as diatheses, and stress can be psychological or biological in nature