Catatonia is a group of symptoms that usually involve a lack of movement and communication, and also can include agitation, confusion, and restlessness. Until recently, it was thought of as a type of schizophrenia.
What causes a person to be catatonic?
It’s believed that catatonia symptoms may be caused and exacerbated by a dysfunction in the transmission pathways of serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid). In other words, something is getting in the way of the proper path these neurotransmitters typically take in the brain and body.
What happens in a catatonic state?
Catatonia affects a person’s ability to move in a normal way. People with catatonia can experience a variety of symptoms. The most common symptom is stupor, which means that the person can’t move, speak, or respond to stimuli. However, some people with catatonia may exhibit excessive movement and agitated behavior.
What are the 12 symptoms of catatonia?
The DSM5 criteria include the presence of three symptoms from the following list of twelve: stupor; catalepsy; waxy flexibility; mutism; negativism; posturing; mannerisms; stereotypy; agitation; grimacing; echolalia; and echopraxia.
What does catatonic mean in psychology? – Related Questions
What is a catatonic person like?
Catatonia is a disorder that disrupts a person’s awareness of the world around them. People with this condition sometimes react very little or not at all to their surroundings, or might behave in ways that are unusual, unexpected or unsafe to themselves or others.
What happens to the brain in catatonia?
Catatonia is often associated with brain imaging abnormalities (in more than 75% of cases). The majority of the case reports show diffuse lesions of white matter, in a wide range of brain regions. Most of the case reports of functional imaging usually show frontal, temporal, or basal ganglia hypoperfusion.
What medications can cause catatonia?
Drug-induced catatonia has mostly been reported with psychotropic drugs, including fluphenazine, haloperidol, risperidone, and clozapine, non-psychotropic drugs such as steroids, disulfiram, ciprofloxacin, several benzodiazepines, as well as drugs of abuse, including phencyclidine, cannabis, mescaline, LSD, cocaine and
How do you test for catatonia?
Laboratory investigations should include a complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, muscle and hepatic enzymes, thyroid function tests, electrolytes, blood glucose, and urinalysis to assess for comorbid conditions, causes, or complications of catatonia.
What happens if catatonia goes untreated?
If catatonia is left unrecognized and untreated it becomes chronic, and patients may die from complications of malnutrition, immobility, and/or dangerous behavior. The DSM-IV does recognize that catatonia is frequently associated with medical illnesses and carries a significant morbidity and mortality.
Can catatonia be faked?
In psychiatric studies, malingering has been well described. However, there is a paucity of scientific literature regarding the feigning of catatonia-like symptoms, potentially because catatonic symptoms are less well understood by the public and more difficult to maintain for long periods of time.
Can catatonia lead to death?
INTRODUCTION. Although catatonia can occur secondary to a general medical condition, catatonia itself has been known to lead to various medical complications and even death.
Can you go catatonic from anxiety?
Catatonia is often a presentation of extreme anxiety and depression. Missing the diagnosis of catatonia would lead to improper treatment, which could be life-threatening.
Do catatonic patients remember?
By looking at the case notes of hundreds of patients who had experienced catatonia, we found that a few had spoken about what had happened, either at the time or later on. Many weren’t aware of or didn’t remember what was happening.
What does a catatonic episode feel like?
I woke up feeling like I was lying in a hospital bed, but I could not open my eyes to confirm. I wanted to see where I was and sit up, but I was also paralyzed. My arms felt like rubber when I attempted to move them.
Can mental trauma cause catatonia?
It has also been noted that people with past depression who experience trauma are prone to catatonic depression. For example, a traumatic event or losing a loved one can cause mental trauma. As an outcome, the individual encounters extreme emotional stress, which causes him or her to enter a catatonic state.
What is an example of catatonic behavior?
For example, a person might pace in a repeated pattern and make loud exclamations for no reason (i.e., not in response to an environmental stimulus or event). Parrot-like repetition or echoing of words, known as echolalia, is also a common catatonic behavior.
What part of the brain causes catatonia?
Indeed, it appears that the parietal cortex may play an important role in motricity as demonstrated by the occurrence of a catatonic state in patients with a parietal lesion (35).
Is catatonia part of bipolar?
Catatonia was reported with higher prevalence in bipolar patients with a history of psychosis, which may in turn affect more than half of all patients with bipolar disorder [2]. In addition, catatonia has been associated with both manic and depressive states of bipolar disorder [3].
Is catatonia a spectrum?
Currently, in the DSM-5, catatonia is included in the “Spectrum of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders” chapter and defined by the occurrence of three or more of 12 symptoms (stupor, catalepsy, waxy flexibility, negativism, fixed posture, mannerisms, stereotypes, agitation, presence of grimacing, echolalia, and
Can catatonia last minutes?
For some people with catatonia, their movements can appear as extreme restlessness or agitation. For others, they may not move at all. Catatonia can last for several minutes, or it can last hours or even days.
