Schizophrenia

Contents

Schizophrenia

•       Symptoms

•       Etiology

•       Pathogenesis

Objectives
 

At the end of this lecture, student will be able to

•         Identify the symptoms of Schizophrenia

•         Explain the etiology of schizophrenia

•         Describe the symptoms associated with
schizophrenia

•         Discuss the mechanism involved the
development of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Psychotic
disorder

Severe mental disorder in which thinking and emotion are so
impaired that the individual is seriously out of contact with reality

Disturbance that last for at least 6 months or longer
including 1 month of delusions, hallucination, disorganized speech, behavior or
negative symptom

Types
of Schizophrenia

Paranoid Schizophrenia

•       Small
delusions & hallucination

Dis organised/ Hebphrenic schizophrenia

•       Confused
& disorganized pattern of speech, thought & behavior

Catatonic schizophrenia

•       Abnormal
posture & movement

Undifferentiated schizophrenia

Residual schizophrenia

•       No
severity of symptoms 

Symptoms
in Schizophrenia

•       Positive
symptoms

                                Excesses
/ bizarre additions to normal thoughts, emotions or behaviors

•       Negative
symptoms

                                Deficits
in normal thoughts, emotions, or behaviors

•       Cognitive
dysfunction

                                Abnormalities
in attention, working memory and executive function

Positive Symptoms

•       Distortions
or excesses of normal functioning

                –
Delusions

                –
Hallucinations

                – Disorganized
thinking and speech

                –
Inappropriate affect

        •     Positive symptoms are generally more
responsive to treatment than negative symptoms

Negative Symptoms

•       Introvert
behaviour

•       Thought
disorder with irrational conclusion

•       Garbled
sentences

•       Lack
of motivation

•       Poor
socialization

•       Emotional
blunting

Types of Negative Symptoms

• Poverty of speech or Alogia

• Blunted and flat affect or Flat affect

• Loss of volition or Avolition

• Social withdrawal or Anhedonia

• Psychomotor symptoms or Catatonia

Etiology

 of 

Schizophrenia

•       Genetics

•       Imbalance
of neurotransmitter in brain

•       Brain
damage

•       Environmental
influence

•       Viral
attack

Pathogenesis of 

Schizophrenia

•       From
dopaminergic symptoms

•       Dopamine
– inhibitory NT

•       Precursor
for adrenaline & NA

•       Dopamine
pathway involved in schizophrenia

–      Mesolimbic
dopamine pathway

–      Mesocortic
pathway

–      Nigrastriatal
pathway

•       Increased
activity of nigrostriatal region & mesolimbic

•       Decreased
activity of mesocortical tract

•       Overfiring
of neurons

•       Hallucinations

•       Serotonergic
pathway also involved

Summary

•       Severe
mental disorder in which thinking and emotion are so impaired that the
individual is seriously out of contact with reality

•       Symptoms
of schizophrenia are categorized as primary, secondary and cognitive
dysfunction

•       Pathogenesis
of schizophrenia is due to the imbalance and over excitation of certain NT