BMS 450 Lecture Notes - Atypical Antipsychotic, White Matter, Schizophrenia
Document Summary
Psychosis is a distorted view of reality that may include deranged personality, impaired cognition, delusions and inappropriate affect. Onset: age 17 30 years; generally not after 45. Atrophy of frontal lobes, temporal lobes & hippocampus. Retarded white matter growth (normally peaks age 30) 6-fold higher dopamine levels in left vs. right brain. Psychotic behaviors with loss of sense of reality. Symptoms may appear abruptly over a few weeks. Auditory most common, internal voices tell person what to do, warn of dangers, talk about his/her behavior. Tactile hallucinations things not there touching their body. Delusions of grandeur: belief they are famous historical figures. Belief that people are trying to harm them or spy on them or their loved ones. Belief people are controlling their bodies or thoughts by electromagnetic waves. Due to delusions of persecution, there can be violence. These are disruptions of normal emotions and behaviors. Flat affect: no emotion in face, monotonous voice.
