Schizophrenia
What are treatment types for schizophrenia prior to development of antipsychotic drugs?
Electroconvulsive therapy (sending electrical activity throughout brain) and frontal lobotomy (attempt to lessen agitation and psychotic behaviors by cutting frontal lobe regions).
What are some risk factors for depression?
Severe stressors, substance abuse, chronic medical conditions, medical conditions.
What is the neuroprogression hypothesis?
The neuroprogression hypothesis emphasizes pathology in disease, and how much symptoms can worsen as the disease progresses, both in severity and frequency of episodes of mania and depression, as well as cognitive impairment.
What are some non-biological influences that can cause personality disorders?
Environment, cultural context, societal norms, etc.
What are the major types of personality disorders?
Schizoid, Schizotypal, Paranoid, Borderline, Histrionic, Antisocial, Narcissitic, Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive Compulsive
What are typical antipsychotics used in schizophrenia treatment?
Chlorpromazine and haloperidol.
What is the kindling hypothesis of depression?
Stressors tend to cause earlier depressive episodes in an individual, compared to other risk factors.
Comorbidities associated with bipolar disease?
Substance use disorders, cardiovascular disease, shortened life expectancy
What are the three clusters of personality disorder?
A. Odd and eccentric, B. dramatic and erratic, C. anxious and fearful. Different disorders types can be present in each form.
What makes personality disorders different from other psychopathological disorders?
The idea that the feeling stems from identity vs. self, and heavy impairment of social behaviors.
What is the evidence for schizophrenia being considered a neurodevelopmental disorder?
Dopamine hypothesis: this change in dopamine production is affected during childhood, so this enhanced functioning is an effect of already pre-existing imbalances
What is some of the DSM diagnostic criteria for depression, and how many of the symptoms need to be present for diagnosis and for how long?
Five out of nine symptoms must be present for at least two weeks, and these include: depression, anhedonia, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, suicidal ideation, fatigue, changes in sleep and weight, decrease in attention, and psychomotor agitation.
What has been found to be effective when treating bipolar disorder (medication wise)?
Combining mood stabilizers such as lithium and antipsychotics such as clozapine.
What are some of the key symptoms of BPD and what neurotransmitter is associated?
Impairment in self-image, mood swings, fear of abandonment, paranoia, tendency to self-harm, suicidal ideations. Serotonin is primarily affected in individuals with borderline personality disorder.
What is the idea of identity disturbance?
Identity disturbance revolves in an unstable self-identity, which plays a role in the individual’s life, such as at their workplace, interpersonal relationships, or social situations, as they are unsure of how to present themselves or act.
What are gamma oscillations and its role in schizophrenia?
Gamma oscillations are associated with cognitive function and are typically modulated by PV neurons, but a decrease in GABA functioning and NMDA hypoactivity, which leads to an impairment in gamma oscillation functioning, which leads to a decrease in working memory as associated with schizophrenia.
What is persistent depressive disorder (PDD), and how does it differ from depression?
It is a long-term form of depression, but symptoms are typically less severe, although persistent. It is also called dysthymia.
Involvement of reward pathway and lateral habenula with treating depression bouts?
Overstimulating the lateral habenula can be involved with anhedonia, which is the feeling of lack of pleasure. It strengthens the anti-reward pathway, which is due to inhibition of the release pathway (prevents dopamine release).
What is chronic emptiness and what are its forms in BPD?
Empty feeling, includes somatic and existential experiences. Somatic feels physically empty, whereas in existential, the person may feel disconnected from reality or that they are not real.
What neurotransmitters and brain regions are affected by personality disorders?
Brain regions that play a role in mood, emotion, and cognitive processes are affected, and neurotransmitters involved in this process, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine (monoamines) as well.
What is the role of overpruning in schizophrenia?
Overpruning leads to an imbalance between glutamate and GABA signaling, which eventually has an effect on gamma oscillations and increases the amount of dopamine that is released in the striatum, both of which cause some of the cognitive symptoms we see in schizophrenia.
What is the monoamine hypothesis of depression?
Depression is caused by monoamine deficiency. These include norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine.
What are the short and long term effects of ketamine use?
Short term effects involve inhibition of anti-reward center (reverses what overstimulation of lateral habenula is doing), and long term effects target the spine and that part of the CNS.
What are some treatment options in BPD and what do they target?
Medication does not work frequently with BPD, so psychological intervention is typically utilized. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is especially beneficial when exploring mindfulness and addressing behaviors specifically. Its aim is to raise self awareness in the individual.
What are the best treatment options for personality disorders?
Psychotherapy, typically combined with medication in the form of antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers typically is the best option. Individuals see more success with a combination of both rather than just one or the other.