Psych Test 4

Somatic Symptom Disorders

• Somatization: the transference of mental experiences and states into bodily symptoms.
• Somatic Symptom Disorder: characterized by one or more physical symptoms that have no organic basis.

Conversion Disorder

• Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder (FNSD): also known as Conversion Disorder.
• Characterized by "la belle indifference": a seeming lack of concern or distress about the functional loss experienced.

Pain Disorder

• Primary symptom: pain that is not relieved by analgesics and is greatly affected by psychological factors.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

• Previously known as Hypochondriasis: preoccupation with the fear of having or acquiring a serious disease and misinterpreting bodily functions.

Factitious Disorders

• Fabricated or induced illness: symptoms intentionally produced for purpose or gain.
• Malingering: intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated symptoms for external incentive or outcome.
• Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self (Munchausen Syndrome): fabricating illness to gain attention.
• Factitious Disorder Imposed on Others (Munchausen by Proxy): fabricating illness in others to gain attention and sympathy.

Somatic Symptom Illnesses

• Clients do not voluntarily control their symptoms.
• Primary gains: direct internal benefits of being sick (e.g., relief of anxiety, conflict, or distress).
• Secondary gains: external or personal benefits received from others because one is sick.

Treatment and Coping Mechanisms

• SSRIs (e.g., fluoxetine/Prozac, sertraline/Zoloft, paroxetine/Paxil) are commonly used to treat somatic symptom illnesses.
• Emotion-focused coping strategies: help clients relax and reduce feelings of stress (e.g., progressive relaxation, deep breathing, guided imagery, distractions).
• Problem-focused coping strategies: help clients resolve or change their behavior or situation (e.g., problem-solving methods, role-playing interactions).

Cyberchondria

• Excessive or repeated online searches for health-related information that is distressing or anxiety-provoking for the person.

Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

• Illness anxiety disorder, formerly known as hypochondriasis, is a preoccupation with the fear of having or contracting a serious disease, accompanied by misinterpretation of bodily functions.

Fabricated or Induced Illness

• Fabricated or induced illness involves intentionally producing symptoms for a purpose or gain.

Malingering and Factitious Disorders

• In malingering and factitious disorders, individuals willfully control their symptoms.

Somatic Symptom Illnesses

• In somatic symptom illnesses, clients do not voluntarily control their symptoms.

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Others

• Factitious disorder imposed on others, also known as Munchausen by proxy, occurs when an individual fabricates illness in another person, often to receive praise or admiration for "saving" the victim.

Medically Unexplained Symptoms

• Medically unexplained symptoms and functional somatic syndromes are commonly used terms in medical settings.

Defense Mechanisms

• Internalization and somatization are unconscious defense mechanisms that clients are not consciously aware of and do not voluntarily control.

Secondary Gains

• Secondary gains refer to the external or personal benefits received from others due to being sick.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• ADHD is characterized by three main symptoms: inattentiveness, overactivity, and impulsiveness.
• Atomoxetine, a SNRI, is used to treat ADHD.
• People with ADHD have a noticeable decrease in metabolism in the frontal lobes.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that appears in childhood, ranging from mild to severe symptoms.
• Common symptoms of ASD include communication deficits, difficulties building social relationships, overdependence on routines, and high sensitivity to the environment.

Speech and Language Disorders

• Coprolalia is a speech disorder characterized by the involuntary and repetitive use of socially unacceptable language, often including obscene words.
• Palilalia is a speech disorder where individuals repeat words over and over.

Tic Disorders

• A tic is a sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, and stereotyped motor movement or vocalization.
• Tourette's disorder is a type of tic disorder that involves multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics, occurring many times a day for more than 1 year.
• Tic disorders are typically treated with atypical antipsychotics, such as risperidone or aripiprazole.

Stereotypic Movement Disorder

• Stereotypic movement disorder is characterized by rhythmic, repetitive behaviors, such as hand waving, rocking, head banging, and biting, that appear to have no purpose.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• ADHD is characterized by three key symptoms: inattentiveness, overactivity, and impulsiveness.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically first seen in childhood.
• Symptoms of ASD vary from mild to severe and exist on a continuum.
• Common symptoms of ASD include:
  • Communication deficits.
  • Difficulty building social relationships.
  • Overdependence on routines.
  • High sensitivity to the environment.

Speech Disorders

• Palilalia is a speech disorder characterized by the repetition of words over and over.
• Tics are sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, and stereotyped movements or vocalizations.

Cognitive Disorders

• Agnosia: inability to recognize or name objects despite intact sensory abilities.

Neurodegenerative Disorders

• Alzheimer’s disease: progressive brain disorder with gradual onset, causing decline in functioning, including loss of speech, motor function, and personality and behavioral changes.

Language Disorders

• Aphasia: deterioration of language function.

Motor Disorders

• Apraxia: impaired ability to execute motor functions despite intact motor abilities.

Memory-Related Disorders

• Confabulation: making up answers to fill in memory gaps, often associated with organic brain problems.
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE): brain injury caused by repeated concussions, often seen in sports like boxing and football.

Neurological Disorders

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: central nervous system disorder that develops in adults 40-60 years old, involving altered vision, loss of coordination, and dementia.

Dementia

• Dementia: mental disorder involving multiple cognitive deficits, initially involving memory impairment with progressive deterioration of all cognitive functioning.

Inherited Disorders

• Huntington’s disease: inherited, dominant gene disease causing cerebral atrophy, demyelination, and enlargement of brain ventricles.

Substance-Related Disorders

• Korsakoff’s syndrome: type of dementia caused by long-term, excessive alcohol intake, resulting in chronic thiamine or vitamin B deficiency.

Memory-Related Disorders

• Confabulation: a phenomenon where individuals fill in memory gaps by making up answers, often associated with organic brain problems.

Brain Injuries

• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE): a type of brain injury caused by repeated concussions, commonly seen in contact sports like boxing and football.

Cognitive Disorders

• Dementia: a mental disorder characterized by multiple cognitive deficits, initially affecting memory and progressively deteriorating to include all cognitive functions.

Genetic Disorders

• Huntington's Disease: an inherited, dominant gene disorder primarily affecting the brain, causing cerebral atrophy, demyelination, and enlargement of brain ventricles.

Confabulation and Memory Distortions

• Confabulation is a phenomenon where individuals make up answers to fill in memory gaps, often resulting in inaccurate information.
• This phenomenon is commonly associated with organic brain problems, which can lead to memory distortions and confabulated responses.

Huntington's Disease

• Huntington's disease is an inherited disease caused by a dominant gene, meaning that a single copy of the mutated gene is enough to cause the condition.
• The disease primarily affects the brain, leading to cerebral atrophy (shrinkage of brain tissue), demyelination (loss of the fatty insulation surrounding nerve fibers), and enlargement of the brain ventricles.
• Huntington's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that can have a significant impact on cognitive and motor function.

Neurodegenerative Diseases

• Pick's disease is a degenerative brain disease that predominantly affects the frontal and temporal lobes, causing symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease.

Vascular Dementia

• Vascular dementia has symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease, but is characterized by an abrupt onset, followed by rapid changes in functioning, plateaus, and repeated cycles of decline and stabilization.

Agnosia

• Agnosia is a condition in which individuals are unable to recognize or name objects despite having intact sensory abilities.

Executive Functioning

• Executive functioning is a set of cognitive processes that enables individuals to think abstractly, plan, initiate, sequence, monitor, and stop complex behavior.

Lewy Body Dementia

• Lewy body dementia is a progressive disorder characterized by cognitive impairment, extensive neuropsychiatric symptoms (including delusions and visual hallucinations), and motor symptoms, with functional impairments potentially exceeding cognitive deficits in the early stages.

Prion Diseases

• Prion diseases are caused by abnormal protein folding triggered by a misfolded prion protein in the brain, leading to cell death and tissue damage.