Diagnosis and treatment: A patient is taken by police to the mental hospital. He
ID: 178547 • Letter: D
Question
Diagnosis and treatment:
A patient is taken by police to the mental hospital. He is deranged, and talk incoherently that the
terrorists are coming to destroy him. He is highly agitated, and fear for his life. He beats himself up and
bang on the wall saying that he is hearing commanding voice scolding him. He banged his head so hard
that he is bleeding profusely.
a. What are the characteristic symptoms that you can identify to be associated with a disorder?
b. If you were the psychiatrist, based on the symptoms, what disorder is he likely to have? What are the
characteristics of this disorder? Which subtype of disorder does he have?
c. What other disorders you can eliminate?
d. What test would you order to screen for this disorder?
e. What neurotransmitter system or brain structure that is involved in regulating this disorder?
f. What pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Explain how this drug could treat this
disorder.
Explanation / Answer
a. Notable symptoms are hearing voices that others do not, abnormal social behavior and failure to understand what is real.
b. The disorder is schizophrenia. The subtype of disorder is Paranoid type
c. Psychosis
e. misfiring of dopaminergic neurons