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 Disordered thinking
Ideas not logically related
Faulty perception and attention
Lack of emotional expressiveness
Inappropriate or flat emotions
Disturbances in movement or behavior
Disheveled appearance
Complex syndrome that has a devastating effect on the lives of the person and on
their family.
People with schizophrenia are more likely to be stigmatized and discriminated against
those people with other mental disorders.

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Men diagnosed at a slightly earlier age

Childhood schizophrenia can be attributed more on the genetic/biological component

while
those individuals who develops schizophrenia at early adulthood can be due to
biopsychosocial causes

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Positive symptoms are the most obvious signs of psychosis. Between 50% to 70% of
people with schizophrenia experience delusions, hallucinations, or both.

Idea of reference—sometimes called a delusion of reference—is the false belief that

irrelevant occurrences or details in the world relate directly to oneself

Most common hallucinations is auditory hallucinations. 74% have this symptom

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Approximately 25% of people with schizophrenia display negative symptoms

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The least studied and the least understood symptoms of schizophrenia. Prevalence
of the behaviors are unclear.

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Specify w/ catatonia

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Genetically heterogeneous
Not likely that disorder caused by single
gene
Family studies
Relatives at increased risk
Negative symptoms have stronger
genetic component

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Other neurotransmitters involved:
Serotonin
GABA
Glutamate
Enlarged ventricles:
Implies loss of brain cells
Correlate with Poor performance on cognitive
tests, Poor premorbid adjustment, Poor response
to treatment

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Obstetrical complications rates high in patients with schizophrenia
Reduced supply of oxygen during delivery may result in loss of cortical
matter
Presence of parasite, toxoplasma gondii, associated
with 2.5x greater risk of developing schizophrenia

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This supports the Vulnerability—stress model of schizophrenia

Downward drift hypothesis- is the argument that illness causes one to have a
downward shift in social class. An individual's deteriorating mental health occurs first,
resulting in low social class attainment

Double-bind communication- when the individual receives two or more conflicting

messages

High Expressed Emotion' refers to high levels of emotion expressed specifically

towards the individual or within the family context

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The standard of treatment for most mental disorders is the combination of
medication and psychotherapy. Both combined treatments will result in better
outcome than one treatment alone.

Importance of psychoeducation not only to the patient but also to their family.

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