Quantum Units Education®

Prenatal Factors in Schizophrenia

1. Static neurodevelopmental schizophrenia models implicate events occurring prenatally or perinatally, while ___________ neurodevelopmental models include those that may occur until the final stages of brain development.

Exogenous Factors

2. Research about seasons of birth and schizophrenia indicates that:

3. Birth in an urban area is associated with a 3.9-fold increased risk of schizophrenia, possibly because of toxins, infections, and illnesses in urban areas.

4. Exposure to stress in the late second trimester increases risk for schizophrenia more than does exposure at other times in the pregnancy.

Current Research on the Genetic Contributors to Schizophrenia

5. Schizophrenia, which is usually clinically severe and persistent, is relatively common and widespread with a 1% lifetime risk in the general population worldwide.

Total Aggregated Genetic Effects on Schizophrenia

6. Genetic effects appear to be the dominant overall cause of schizophrenia, and these effects account for approximately 68% of the total variation in liability to schizophrenia.

7. Siblings of schizophrenic patients have _____ percent of shared schizophrenia genes and an estimated _____ percent probability of receiving the same diagnosis at some point during their life.

Where Are Schizophrenia Liability Genes Located?

8. In looking for schizophrenia liability genes, initial screens for genetic risk variants can help narrow locations to particular chromosomal ‘‘neighborhoods’’ that can then be searched more intensively.

Which Specific Genetic Variants Contribute to Schizophrenia Liability?

9. Even though researchers have conducted numerous studies of genetic significance in schizophrenia, most of the genetic liability is still unidentified.

Improving the Phenotype

10. Several studies have identified genetic markers for schizotypal personality disorder, which is characterized by severe schizophrenia-like symptoms and neurological deficits.

Neurodevelopment and Schizophrenia: Broadening the Focus

11. Prenatal complications and other factors that have the ability to alter fetal brain development have been linked with schizophrenia.

12. Adolescence and early adulthood are the critical periods for the beginning of the ___________, which is the the period of decline before the onset of schizophrenia.

Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms in the Origins of Vulnerability

13. The term neurogentic refers to changes in the expression of genes that can affect the biological and behavioral phenotype of an organism.

Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms in the Onset of Schizophrenia: Adolescent Brain Development

14. Although much is unknown about neurotransmitter changes in the developing brain, evidence indicates that the major neurotransmitter implicated in psychotic disorders is:

The Broad Neurodevelopmental View

15. Dopamine activity and gene expression changes from hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity and concomitant cortisol secretion contribute to each of the following  neurodegenerative changes EXCEPT:

Conclusions

16. Recent findings from genetic studies indicate that schizophrenia shares genetic risk factors with other forms of psychosis, such as schizo-affective disorder with mania.

Emotion in Schizophrenia: Where Feeling Meets Thinking

17. Schizophrenic patients may experience diminished motivation that is associated with poor overall functioning, and this is known as anhedonia.

18. People with schizophrenia experience strong feelings in their day-to-day lives even though the contexts in which they experience these feelings are different from those without the disorder.

Linking Emotion and Cognition

19. The ability to anticipate whether something in the future will be pleasurable requires complex cognitive skills, such as ____________________, drawing upon past experiences, and maintaining an image or emotional state.

20. Several respected studies have indicated that people with schizophrenia can retrieve memories of their emotional experiences, particularly positive and stimulating events.

Toward the Next Step of Translation: Assessment and Treatment

21. For individuals with schizophrenia, an effective adjunctive treatment to medications for symptoms such as disorganized thinking, delusions, and hallucinations is:

Psychosocial Treatments for Schizophrenia-What Interventions are Available

22. Psychosocial interventions have been developed to target the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, including _______________, which involves having the individual consider alternatives to his or her current belief system.

CBT

23. Cognitive behavioral interventions are used to help manage the delusional thought processes of schizophrenia which include conviction, significance, intensity, and inflexibility.

Family Interventions

24. Which of the following in NOT one of the goals of early family interventions for individuals with schizophrenia? 

Cognitive Remediation

25. A range of cognitive remediation initiatives that have been developed for treatment of traumatic brain have also been used to address the problem of cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia.

26. Evidence shows that psychosocial treatments enhance functioning beyond the improvements from medication alone, and it is recommended that these treatments be assessed in combination to determine the cumulative effects.

Ventral Hippocampus, Interneurons, and Schizophrenia

27. A consistent observation in schizophrenia patients is increased limbic hippocampal activity.

28. A setting in which a substantial threatening stimulus is unlikely to be encountered or in which the opportunity for a substantial reward is minimal is called:

29. The neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) stimulates the activity of pyramidal neurons, the neurons that provide the output of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Stress-Induced Hippocampal Damage: Insights Into Potential Methods for Schizophrenia Prevention

30. Studies have shown a strong link between stress and hippocampal pathology, in that stressors are known to precipitate damage in the hippocampus.

Social Factors in Schizophrenia

31. The term used by researchers to refer to how well a person is doing in day-to-day social situations is:

Gender and Social Functioning

32. Which of the following accurately describes gender issues and social functioning in schizophrenia?

Families Coping With Schizophrenia

33. The relational variable that provides a measure of the family environment and reflects high levels of criticism, hostility, or emotional overinvolvement toward the schizophrenic patient is:

Summary and Future Directions

34. People with schizophrenia do not pick up on the kind of social hints that are obvious to most people, and this deficit limits the extent to which they can develop supportive interpersonal relationships.

Schizophrenia Course, Long-Term Outcome, Recovery, and Prognosis

35. Stress related risk factors or those related to vulnerability interact with personality, cognitive traits, and _____________ to influence the course of schizophrenia.

Model of Outcome in Schizophrenia

36. For over 50% of schizophrenia patients the disorder is not chronic but, rather, is characterized by episodic periods of symptoms, often with continual or chronic malfunctioning, adjustment difficulties, and some impairment in functioning between episodes.

Risk and Protective Factors for Course and Outcome in Schizophrenia

37. Patient-centered factors that contribute substantially to the course of schizophrenia include poorer cognitive skills, longer duration of untreated psychosis, less continuity of treatment, substance abuse, and family overinvolvement with high expressed emotion.

Overview

38. Each of the following is an accurate statement about negative and positive aspects of schizophrenia EXCEPT:

39. Based on the evidence concerning the potential failure of antipsychotic drugs, medication should be evaluated for continued use beyond six months from the initial acute episode.

New Opportunities in the Treatment of Cognitive Impairments Associated With Schizophrenia-MATRICS

40. Even with existing antipsychotic drug treatments, cognitive deficits remain and most individuals with schizophrenia are burdened by significant psychosocial impairments.

41. Most patients with schizophrenia are not routinely treated with multiple psychoactive prescription medications because of concerns regarding interactions between different drugs.

Additional Post-MATRICS Initiatives in the United States

42. In order to approve a treatment for cognitive impairments in schizophrenia, the FDA has indicated that improvement on a measure of cognitive functioning must be demonstrated in addition to growth on neuropsychological tests.

CNTRICS: Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia

43. Some experts have advocated for the use of simultaneous measures of behavior and brain function to help determine when and why new drugs are or are not working to improve cognitive functioning.

44. Construct-valid cognitive tests tend to be the most frequently used because they are typically simplified, time-efficient, and inexpensive to conduct.

Implications for Psychological Science

45. In clinical drug testing, validated measures of the specific cognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia should be used in ________ trials to identify the particular cognitive target affected most strongly by selective pharmacological interventions.