Psychosis

● Motor abnormalities
● Repetitive, complex gestures
○ Usually of the fingers or hands
○ Excitable, wild flailing of limbs

● Maintain unusual posture for long period of time
● e.g., stand on one leg

● Limbs can be manipulated and posed by another person

Emotional responses inconsistent with situation

Five types of schizophrenia:

● Characterized by one or more systematized delusions or
auditory hallucinations and the absence of such symptoms as
disorganized speech and behavior or flat affect

● Includes mostly positive symptoms.
● Responds more readily to medication than other forms.

Paranoid Schizophrenia most common symptoms

- systematized delusions (consistent delusions)
• Tends to have an increase suspiciousness and relationship issues

disorganized behaviors manifested by disorganized speech
and behavior, and flat or grossly inappropriate affect

Disorganized Schizophrenia is formerly known as

Have delusions and hallucinations that are less organized than
those of the paranoid schizophrenic, and have disorganization
of thought, behavior and emotion.

Speech may become incoherent and the person may invent
new words (neologisms)

Includes significant disturbance of motor activity
○ Motoric immobility or stupor (withdrawn catatonia; little or
no motor activity)
○ Excessive purposeless motor activity (excited catatonia)

● Extreme negativism or physical resistance
● Peculiar voluntary movements, including waxy flexibility
● Echolalia or echopraxia
● Behavior may become dangerous/violent

- mimic words said by others

- mimic actions of others

Behavior shows prominent psychotic symptoms not meeting criteria for paranoid, disorganized, or catatonic schizophrenia (Doesn’t fit into any other category)

At least one previous schizophrenic episode but current
absence of prominent psychotic features and continuing
evidence of 2 or more symptoms, such as marked social
isolation, peculiar behaviors, blunted affect, odd beliefs, or
unusual perceptual experiences

Neurotransmitter Changes:

Psychosis and Schizophrenia occurs with Excessive
dopamine in mesolimbic system

metabolite of Dopamine

– involved with behavior

coordination of voluntary movement

inhibits prolactin release

involved in eating behavior

Regulate the anticipatory motivational behavior

Dysfunction in the glutamate levels when there’s schizophrenia
or psychosis

4 NT are involved w/ psychosis: