Schizophrenia: Onset and Symptoms

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Questions and Answers

What are the general components of symptomatology in schizophrenia?

Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and negative symptoms

Disordered thought forms, loose associations between ideas, perception issues, and cognitive deficits (correct)

Attentional problems, affective issues, motivation issues, and social functioning

Blunted affect, anhedonia, motivation issues, and social withdrawal

What is the onset range for schizophrenia?

From adolescence to 40's

From childhood to late adulthood

From adolescence to 30's (correct)

From early adulthood to late adulthood

What are examples of positive symptomatology in schizophrenia?

Social withdrawal and cognitive deficits

Delusions and hallucinations (correct)

Blunted affect and anhedonia

Disordered thought forms and loose associations between ideas

What is required for a patient to meet the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia?

Two of a set of symptoms including delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior AND negative symptoms, with one of the two symptoms being a positive symptom Signup and view all the answers

What is the concordance rate of schizophrenia for identical twins?

48% Signup and view all the answers

What is the neurotransmitter implicated in schizophrenia?

Dopamine Signup and view all the answers

What was the first modern treatment for schizophrenia?

Chlorpromazine Signup and view all the answers

What is the therapeutic lag observed between antipsychotic treatment and symptom improvement?

$2-3$ months Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following are common symptoms of schizophrenia?

Disorganized speech and behavior Signup and view all the answers

What do antipsychotics work by blocking in the brain?

$D2$ dopamine receptors in the striatum Signup and view all the answers

What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Diminished emotional expression, low motivation, and disorganized behavior Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the inherited genetic risk factors for schizophrenia?

Cellular signaling changes Signup and view all the answers

What did early antipsychotics worsen?

Negative cognitive symptoms Signup and view all the answers

What does the Dopamine Hypothesis suggest about antipsychotic effects?

Blocking dopamine in the striatum leads to antipsychotic effects. Signup and view all the answers

What is observed among only a third of schizophrenia patients who respond to antipsychotics?

Improvement in some symptoms Signup and view all the answers

What do the best dopaminergic drugs do?

Only help some symptoms in some patients. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary target of clinically-effective drugs for schizophrenia?

Dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum Signup and view all the answers

What is the main limitation of the dopamine hypothesis in explaining schizophrenia?

It only accounts for 1/3 efficacy in schizophrenia patients Signup and view all the answers

What structural abnormalities are observable in schizophrenic brains?

Cortical thinning in the prefrontal cortex and parietal lobe Signup and view all the answers

What developmental process may explain the coincidence of schizophrenia development and late adolescence onset?

Synaptic pruning and arborization Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes the development of a schizophrenic brain from a healthy brain?

"Over-pruning" leading to reduced synaptic connectivity below psychosis threshold Signup and view all the answers

What risk factor is associated with an increased likelihood of developing schizophrenia?

Maternal influenza infection during pregnancy Signup and view all the answers

What structural difference was observed between prodromal adolescents who later developed schizophrenia and those who did not?

Converters had a more rapid loss of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic feature of neurons in schizophrenic brains compared to healthy brains?

Reduced dendritic spines leading to lower neuropil compared to healthy samples. Signup and view all the answers

How is inflammation associated with schizophrenia?

High inflammatory markers are strongly associated with gray matter loss. Signup and view all the answers

How does the reduction of neuron bushy-ness affect the schizophrenic brain?

It results in higher neural density compared to healthy brains. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes structural features of schizophrenic brains from those of Alzheimer's disease?

Schizophrenic brains have no neural death, only loss of neuropil, while Alzheimer's involves neural death. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Schizophrenia involves various kinds of delusions, including persecution, grandeur, and thought control, as well as hallucinations with varying severities
Hallucinations can affect any sense and range from strong, perception-absent experiences to milder distortions of reality
Disorganized speech and behavior are common symptoms, with speech sometimes resembling word salad and behavior exhibiting strange, purposeless actions
Negative symptoms include diminished emotional expression, low motivation, and disorganized behavior
Schizophrenia is highly heritable, with concordance rates of approximately 48% for identical twins and 13-15% for fraternal twins
Schizophrenia is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors
Inherited genetic risk factors for schizophrenia include cellular signaling changes and structural brain changes
Chlorpromazine was the first modern treatment for schizophrenia, discovered by chance
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter implicated in schizophrenia, and antipsychotics work by blocking D2 dopamine receptors in the striatum
The Dopamine Hypothesis suggests that blocking dopamine in the striatum leads to antipsychotic effects, but it doesn't fully explain the complexity of the disorder.
Among the 1/3 of schizophrenia patients who respond to antipsychotics, negative symptoms are not always improved
A therapeutic lag of 2-3 months is observed between schizophrenia patients receiving antipsychotic treatment and experiencing symptoms improvement
Early antipsychotics worsened negative cognitive symptoms, suggesting a potential role for reduced dopamine in the prefrontal cortex.
The best dopaminergic drugs only help some symptoms in some patients.

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Description

Test your knowledge on the onset and symptomatology of schizophrenia, a severe mental illness that manifests in different versions according to its time of onset. Explore the general components and disordered thought forms associated with the condition.