Develop schizophrenia - answer-Many genes play a role
• as do epigenetic factors
• Heritability as high as 79%
-gene-environment interaction
-Environmental Triggers:
• Regular Cannabis Use
• Exposure to Early Life Trauma
➣Sexual Abuse
➣Emotional Abuse
➣Emotional Neglect
➣Bullying
schizophrenia Neuroanatomy - answer-Mesocortical & ventromedial prefrontal cortex:
negative and affective symptoms
-Dorsolateral: cognitive symptoms
-Orbitofrontal & connections to the amygdala: aggressive, impulsive symptoms
Brain Circuits Affected in Schizophrenia: - answer-Dopamine Pathways
• explain the (+) & (-) symptoms seen in schizophrenia & psychosis
Dopamine Role in Psychosis - answer-leading hypothesis
• psychosis & schizophrenia associated with dysfunction of neurotransmitter dopamine
(DA)
➣Traditionally surplus of dopamine
Glutamate Role in Psychosis - answer-primary excitatory neurotransmitter
-implicated in the overactivity of mesolimbic DA pathway in schizophrenia
-Glutamate hypoactivity may result in lost activation of the mesocortical dopamine
pathway leading to negative symptoms of schizophrenia
GABA is the primary _________ neurotransmitter - answerinhibitory
Clinical domains of psychosis symptoms: Positive Symptoms - answer-Hallucinations
-Delusions
-Thought disorder
-Hostility
-Excitability
Clinical domains of psychosis symptoms: Motor Symptoms - answer-Motor delay
-Dyscoordination
, -EPS, e.g.
• Parkinsonism
• Dyskinesia
Clinical domains of psychosis symptoms: Affective Symptoms - answer-Depression
-Anxiety
-Suicidality
Clinical domains of psychosis symptoms: Cognition - answer-Attention
-Working memory
-Verbal memory
-Visual memory
-Executive functioning
-Processing speed
-Social conditioning
Clinical domains of psychosis symptoms: Negative Symptoms - answer-Affective
flattening
-Alogia
-Anhedonia
-Amotivation
-Asociality
Hallucinations: - answer-perceptual experiences in the absence of external stimuli
• Auditory
• Visual
• Tactile (feeling)
• Olfactory
• Gustatory (tasting)
Delusions: - answer-fixed false, irrational beliefs
• Persecution: delusions related to being threatened, victimized, or spied on
• Reference: delusions related to receiving personal messages from television (tv),
radio, or actions of others
• Somatic: delusions related to the body, including illness or the presence of foreign
objects (e.g. Sometimes people believe there are objects in their bodies; for example
they might think they are infested with insects.)
• Grandeur: delusions related to beliefs of special abilities or powers
• Control: delusions that actions and thoughts are controlled by others