PSYB32H3 Lecture 8: PSYB32-Lecture 8.docx
Document Summary
Course of the disorder is probably one of the most disabling (onset is fairly early on in life as opposed to alzheimer"s disease) Disorder is not person specific, the disease affects all family members. In schizophrenia, unlike other disorders in the class, there is no marker, no one symptom that all patients share. Acute stage of the disease is characterized by positive symptoms (sometimes referred to as type 1 symptoms) Hearing own thoughts spoken by other voices 2. Person"s voice is commenting on your own behaviour) Diagnosis can be very tricky because you have to let the disorder evolve over six months; symptoms of schizophrenia are not specific with respect to causation (drugs, epilepsy can cause schizophrenia like symptoms) Negative symptoms are always there against the background of the positive symptoms that come and go which are the acute or active phase of the illness. Prodromal: before the onset of the acute phase.
