Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia

Description

Quiz on Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia, created by Anna K on 27/04/2016.
Anna K
Quiz by Anna K, updated more than 1 year ago
Anna K
Created by Anna K almost 8 years ago
35
1

Resource summary

Question 1

Question
True or False: It has been observed that Sz runs in families.
Answer
  • True
  • False

Question 2

Question
What is the possible biological reasons that Sz seems to run in families?
Answer
  • That there is a gene for schizophrenia that is inherited
  • They share the same environment

Question 3

Question
Family research A [blank_start]meta-analysis[blank_end] of [blank_start]40[blank_end] families by [blank_start]Gottesmann[blank_end] showed that there was a clear relationship between the [blank_start]closeness[blank_end] (genetically) of the family member with Sz and the [blank_start]likelihood[blank_end] of developing the disorder. For the [blank_start]general population[blank_end] the chance of developing Sz is [blank_start]1[blank_end]%. If sombodies [blank_start]grandparent[blank_end] has Sz then the likely hood is [blank_start]5[blank_end]%. For a [blank_start]sibling[blank_end] it is [blank_start]9[blank_end]%, however he found for [blank_start]dizygotic[blank_end] (two egg) twins the likely hood was [blank_start]17[blank_end]% and for [blank_start]monozygotic[blank_end] it was [blank_start]48[blank_end]%. If [blank_start]one[blank_end] parent has sz then the chance is [blank_start]13[blank_end]% and if [blank_start]both[blank_end] parents have it then it goes up to [blank_start]46[blank_end]%. This suggests that there may be a [blank_start]genetic[blank_end] explanation as there may be an [blank_start]inherited[blank_end] sz gene that causes Sz. However the issue with family studies is that families share [blank_start]environments[blank_end] as well as genes therefore the results of this meta-analysis could be due to [blank_start]environmental[blank_end] and social factors rather than genetic.
Answer
  • 40
  • meta-analysis
  • Gottesmann
  • closeness
  • likelihood
  • general population
  • 1
  • grandparent
  • 5
  • sibling
  • 9
  • dizygotic
  • 17
  • monozygotic
  • 48
  • one
  • 13
  • both
  • 46
  • genetic
  • inherited
  • environments
  • environmental

Question 4

Question
Twin Study [blank_start]Gottesmann[blank_end] and [blank_start]Shields[blank_end] looked at the concordance rate for sz in [blank_start]24[blank_end] pairs of monozygotic and [blank_start]33[blank_end] dizygotic twins, from data that spanned [blank_start]26[blank_end] years. They found the concordance rate for dizygotic twins was [blank_start]9[blank_end]% and for monozygotic it was [blank_start]42[blank_end]%. As the MZ twins had a simnifically higher concordance rate it suggests that there may be a genetic factor, as they share [blank_start]100[blank_end]% of their DNA. However as they have identical genetic make up the concordance rate should be 100% but as it is only [blank_start]42[blank_end]% it suggests there may be other factors involved, such as environmental or social factors. The best way to study the effects would be to investigate twins that were reared [blank_start]apart[blank_end] which [blank_start]Gottesmann[blank_end] and [blank_start]Shields[blank_end] did in a later study. In a study of [blank_start]12[blank_end] twin pairs, [blank_start]7[blank_end] of whom were raised apart, they found a [blank_start]58[blank_end]% concordance rate which supports the genetic theory as most of them have not shared the same environment.
Answer
  • Gottesmann
  • Shields
  • 24
  • 33
  • 26
  • 9
  • 42
  • 100
  • 42
  • apart
  • Gottesmann
  • Shields
  • 12
  • 7
  • 58

Question 5

Question
Which statement is true about the Stress Diathesis Model?
Answer
  • It claims Sz is caused by stress.
  • It suggests Sz may be a combination of psychological and biological causes.
  • It says that Sz is solely caused by biological factors and ignores any potential psychological factors.
  • It says that Sz is solely caused by psychological factors and ignores any potential biological factors.

Question 6

Question
Which of these things does the Biochemical Explanation of Sz look at?
Answer
  • How an imbalance of neurochemicals could cause Sz.
  • How an imbalance of neurotransmitters could cause Sz.
  • How in imbalance of red blood cells could cause Sz.
  • How in imbalance of cerebral fluid could cause Sz.

Question 7

Question
What is the Dopamine Hypothesis?
Answer
  • That drug abuse could cause Sz.
  • That excessive amounts of dopamine activity at certain synaptic sites could cause Sz.
  • That too little dopamine activity at certain synaptic sites could cause Sz.

Question 8

Question
What can cause heightened dopamine activity at certain synaptic sites?
Answer
  • The presynaptic neutrons releasing excessive amounts of dopamine.
  • Over sensitive or too many dopamine receptors.
  • Drug abuse
  • The presynaptic neutrons releasing too little dopamine.

Question 9

Question
True or False: Modern research suggests schizophrenics have an abnormal dopamine D1:D2 receptor ratio.
Answer
  • True
  • False

Question 10

Question
Anti-psychotic Drug Research Anti-psychotic drugs are designed to [blank_start]block[blank_end] dopamine [blank_start]receptors[blank_end] in order to prevent them from being [blank_start]stimulated[blank_end] by the [blank_start]dopamine[blank_end], and therefore [blank_start]reduce[blank_end] symptoms of Sz. As the drugs have been proven to be effective it shows that there is a [blank_start]link[blank_end] between [blank_start]dopamine[blank_end] and the [blank_start]symptoms[blank_end] of sz, which supports the dopamine hypothesis. However the drugs only reduced [blank_start]positive[blank_end] symptoms, such as hallucinations, and was not [blank_start]effective[blank_end] for everyone. This suggests that the cause of Sz and its symptoms may be more [blank_start]complex[blank_end] than simply [blank_start]excessive[blank_end] dopamine activity, there could be other [blank_start]factors[blank_end] involved such as social or neuroatomical factors.
Answer
  • block
  • receptors
  • stimulated
  • dopamine
  • reduce
  • link
  • dopamine
  • symptoms
  • positive
  • effective
  • complex
  • excessive
  • factors

Question 11

Question
What is L-dopa?
Answer
  • A drug that is used to treat Parkinson's Disease.
  • A recreational drug.
  • An anti-depressant.
  • An anti-psychotic drug.

Question 12

Question
True or False: L-dopa lowers dopamine activity.
Answer
  • True
  • False

Question 13

Question
Side effects of the drug [blank_start]L-dopa[blank_end], which [blank_start]raises[blank_end] dopamine activity, have included [blank_start]schizophrenia[blank_end]-like symptoms such as [blank_start]hallucinations[blank_end]. This side effect clearly displays the link between dopamine and the [blank_start]positive[blank_end] symptoms of sz which supports the [blank_start]dopamine[blank_end] hypothesis. However as L-dopa only produces [blank_start]positive[blank_end] symptoms of sz it suggests that there may be more to dopamine, it also suggest that the dopamine hypothesis is not a complete explanation of sz as it [blank_start]fails[blank_end] to explain the presence of [blank_start]negative[blank_end] symptoms.
Answer
  • L-dopa
  • Antabuse
  • Paracetamol
  • raises
  • decreases
  • stabilises
  • schizophrenia
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • hallucinations
  • flattening
  • avoliton
  • positive
  • negative
  • dopamine
  • serotonin
  • testosterone
  • melatonin
  • positive
  • negative
  • negative
  • positive
  • fails
  • remembers

Question 14

Question
What do Amphetamines do?
Answer
  • Raise dopamine levels.
  • Decrease dopamine levels.
  • Stabilise dopamine levels.

Question 15

Question
It was found that amphetamines...
Answer
  • ...produced symptoms similar to paranoid schizophrenia when given to non-schizophrenic.
  • ...increased the severity of schizophrenic symptoms when given to schizophrenics.
  • ...decreased the severity of schizophrenic symptoms when given to schizophrenics.
  • ...produced symptoms similar to anxiety when given to non-schizophrenic.
  • ...produced symptoms similar to depression when given to non-schizophrenic.

Question 16

Question
Post Mortem Research Post mortem examinations of the [blank_start]brains[blank_end] of schizophrenic individuals found that schizophrenics had an [blank_start]increased[blank_end] number of dopamine [blank_start]receptors[blank_end] in specific parts of the brain ([blank_start]caudate[blank_end] nucleus [blank_start]putamen[blank_end]) compared to the number of [blank_start]dopamine[blank_end] receptors found in a non-schizophenic brain. This abnormal amount of dopamine receptors could explain the [blank_start]heightened[blank_end] dopamine activity and over-[blank_start]sensitivity[blank_end] to dopamine, which may be the cause of schizophrenic symptoms. However it is unclear whether these dopamine receptors were a [blank_start]cause[blank_end] or a [blank_start]consequence[blank_end] of sz, or whether it was a [blank_start]side[blank_end] effect of taking [blank_start]anti[blank_end]-[blank_start]psychotic[blank_end] drugs.
Answer
  • brains
  • increased
  • receptors
  • caudate
  • putamen
  • dopamine
  • heightened
  • sensitivity
  • cause
  • consequence
  • side
  • psychotic
  • anti

Question 17

Question
What did PET scans on schizophrenic individuals reveal?
Answer
  • They have twice as many dopamine receptors as a non-schizophrenic person.
  • They have half as many dopamine receptors as a non-schizophrenic person.
  • They have decreased activity in the limbic system compared to a non-schizophrenic person.
  • They have increased activity in the frontal lobe compared to a non-schizophrenic person.

Question 18

Question
What is the neuroatomical explanation for sz?
Answer
  • That schizophrenics have a different brain structure to non-schizophrenics.
  • That schizophrenics have the same brain structure to non-schizophrenics.
  • That the structure of the neurones in the schizophrenics brain are different.

Question 19

Question
What neuroatomical differences did Brown find in his MRI research on the brain structure of schizophrenics?
Answer
  • Reduced brain weight
  • Enlarged brain ventricles
  • Increased brain weight
  • Reduced brain ventricles

Question 20

Question
Neuroatomical Twin Studies [blank_start]Suddath[blank_end] conduced [blank_start]MRI[blank_end] scans on [blank_start]monozygotic[blank_end] twins, one of them had sz and the other did not. He found that the sz twin had increased brain [blank_start]verticals[blank_end] and reduced brain [blank_start]weight[blank_end] compared to the non-schizophrenic twin. The brains of the twins, as they are [blank_start]monozygotic[blank_end], should have been identical as their genetic make up is identical however as the schizophrenic twin had a different brain anatomy it shows that there is a clear [blank_start]link[blank_end] between the abnormal brain structure and sz. However the cause and effect is unclear as they cannot tell if the structural abnormalities were a cause or [blank_start]consequence[blank_end] of sz.
Answer
  • Suddath
  • MRI
  • monozygotic
  • verticals
  • weight
  • monozygotic
  • link
  • consequence

Question 21

Question
Schizophrenia frontal lobe and pre-frontal cortex research Research has found that schizophrenics have [blank_start]reduced[blank_end] blood flow to the [blank_start]frontal[blank_end] lobe and reduced activity in the [blank_start]pre[blank_end]-[blank_start]frontal[blank_end] cortex when performing [blank_start]working[blank_end] memory tasks. The prefrontal [blank_start]cortex[blank_end] and frontal lobes are areas or the brain that have been associated with [blank_start]emotional[blank_end] response, impulse control and planning. A malfunction in these areas could explain the [blank_start]negative[blank_end] symptoms such as [blank_start]avolition[blank_end], the inability to persist in any goal orientated behaviour, and [blank_start]flattening[blank_end], a reduction in range and intensity of emotion, as they are linked to those areas of the brain. This is supported by the fact these brain anomalies have been primarily found in individuals who display predominantly [blank_start]negative[blank_end] symptoms, which suggests a link between an abnormal neural anatomy and the [blank_start]negative[blank_end] symptoms of sz; however, does not explain the presence of [blank_start]positive[blank_end] symptoms which suggest sz may be more complex that simply an anatomical difference int the brain.
Answer
  • reduced
  • frontal
  • pre
  • frontal
  • working
  • cortex
  • emotional
  • negative
  • avolition
  • flattening
  • negative
  • negative
  • positive

Question 22

Question
True or False: Research has found that a disproportionately large number of schizophrenics are born in winter or early spring.
Answer
  • True
  • False

Question 23

Question
Which trimester of pregnancy is key for neural development
Answer
  • First trimester
  • Second trimester
  • Third trimester

Question 24

Question
Neurodevelopmental Explanation [blank_start]Mednick[blank_end] investigated the incidents among the children of women who contracted a certain strand of [blank_start]influenza[blank_end] during a 5 week epidemic in [blank_start]Helsinki[blank_end]. [blank_start]Medick[blank_end] discovered that a significantly [blank_start]larger[blank_end] amount of children who were exposed to the infection during the [blank_start]second[blank_end] trimester, which is vital for [blank_start]neurological[blank_end] development, developed schizophrenia compared to those who were exposed to it in the first or third trimester. This is an attractive theory as it offers an explanation how individuals with no [blank_start]family[blank_end] history of sz [blank_start]suddenly[blank_end] develop it or why sometimes only one out of a pair of [blank_start]monozygotic[blank_end] twins develops it. However despite there being a [blank_start]positive[blank_end] correlation it is only a small [blank_start]positive[blank_end] correlation and not every child who was exposed to the influenza grew up to develop schizophrenia which suggests that the neurodevelopmental explanation of schizophrenia is too [blank_start]simplistic[blank_end] and that there may be other [blank_start]factors[blank_end] involved, such as social and environmental factors. A better explanation might be the [blank_start]stress[blank_end] [blank_start]diathesis[blank_end] model which is a [blank_start]combination[blank_end] of biological and psychological explanations. The biological factors, such as being exposed to the virus in the second trimester, may [blank_start]predispose[blank_end] and make the child vulnerable to developing sz; however, the psychological factors, such as high levels of expressed emotion at home, may [blank_start]trigger[blank_end] the schizophrenia to emerge and develop.
Answer
  • Mednick
  • influenza
  • Helsinki
  • Medick
  • larger
  • second
  • family
  • neurological
  • suddenly
  • monozygotic
  • positive
  • positive
  • simplistic
  • factors
  • stress
  • diathesis
  • combination
  • predispose
  • trigger
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