schizophrenia psychotic disorder ; 6 months or more

schizoaffective disorder _carries symptoms from shizophrenia o and major depressive disorder

diagnosis based on main symptoms

typically experience first psychotic break in their early adulthood 18-20 *

from late teens to mid 30s

• prodromal
  • withdrawal, strange ideas, little expressed emotions
• active
  • can be triggered by stress and or trauma

residual

• less active
• positive symptoms
  • unnatural and blizzard additions to a persons behavior
• negative symptoms
  • lack of characteristics/emotions
• psychomotor

stupor posturing, wave flexibility, catatonic excitement

symptoms

• hallucinations
• delusions
• disordered thinking and speech
• inappropriate affect
• 80-85% of cases

delusions - false interpretations of reality

• single or multiple
• delusions of persecution
• delusions of reference
  • special meaning to the actions of others
• delusions of grandeur (i.e. they are the chosen, God)
• delusions of control (i.e. we are in the matrix)
  • thoughts, feelings, etc being controlled by others

hallucinations - false perceptions

• typically auditory
• commands, warnings of danger

formal thought dissorders

derailment or loose associations

• rapid shift from one topic to another
• believing incoherent statements
• single unimportant words in one sentence become subject of

the next (word salad / soup)

• difficult to follow
• neologisms
  • made-up words that typically only have meaning to the persons using them

negative symptoms

• restricted affect
  • flat affect
• poverty of speech
  • alogia
• loss of volition
  • apathy
• social withdrawal
  • further distancing from society

antipsychotic drugs is the most effective treatment; reduces 70% of sufferers

• takes weeks, max 6months to improve

side effects

• Parkinsons
• neuroleptic malignant syndrome
• tardive dyskinesia

schizophrenia is treatable and is not purely genetic; however, it is significantly

search synaptic pruning*

dopamine hypothesis neurons that use dopamine fire too often; transmit too many neurons

• google what is hyper and under-active in schizophrenia*

underactivity of the prefrontal cortex