Disorganized schizophrenia, or hebephrenia, was a subtype of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

prior to 2013. Subtypes of schizophrenia were no longer recognized as separate conditions in the '' DSM 5'', published in 2013. The

disorder Disorder may refer to randomness, non-order, or no intelligible pattern. Disorder may also refer to: Healthcare * Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance * Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern ...

is no longer listed in the 11th revision of the

International Classification of Diseases The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a globally used diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. The ICD is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the directing and coordinating ...

(

ICD-11 The ICD-11 is the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). It replaces the ICD-10 as the global standard for recording health information and causes of death. The ICD is developed and annually updated by the World H ...

). Disorganized schizophrenia was classified within ICD-10 the existing classification, in practice, until January 1, 2022, as a mental and

behavioural Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...

, because the classification was thought to be an extreme expression of the ''disorganization syndrome'' that has been hypothesized to be one aspect of a three-factor model of symptoms in schizophrenia, the other factors being ''reality distortion'' (involving delusions and hallucinations) and ''psychomotor poverty'' (lack of speech, lack of spontaneous movement and various aspects of blunting of emotion).

Presentation

The condition is also known as hebephrenia, named after the Greek term for "adolescence" – ''ἥβη'' (''hḗbē'') – and possibly the ancient-Greek goddess of youth, Hebe, daughter of Hera. The term refers to the ostensibly more prominent appearance of the disorder in persons around puberty. The prominent characteristics of this form are disorganized behavior and speech (see

formal thought disorder A thought disorder (TD) is any disturbance in cognition that adversely affects language and thought content, and thereby communication. A variety of thought disorders were said to be characteristic of people with schizophrenia. A content-though ...

), including loosened associations and schizophasia ("word salad"), and flat or inappropriate affect. In addition, psychiatrists must rule out any possible sign of catatonic schizophrenia. The most prominent features of disorganized schizophrenia are not

delusion A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or som ...

s and

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

s, as in paranoid schizophrenia, although fragmentary delusions (unsystemized and often hypochondriacal) and hallucinations may be present. A person with disorganized schizophrenia may also experience behavioral disorganization, which may impair his or her ability to carry out daily activities such as showering or eating. The emotional responses of such people often seem strange or inappropriate. Inappropriate facial responses may be common, and behavior is sometimes described as "silly", such as inappropriate laughter. Sometimes, there is a complete lack of emotion, including

anhedonia Anhedonia is a diverse array of deficits in hedonic function, including reduced motivation or ability to experience pleasure. While earlier definitions emphasized the inability to experience pleasure, anhedonia is currently used by researchers t ...

(lack of pleasure), and avolition (lack of motivation). Some of these features are also present in other types of schizophrenia, but they are most prominent in disorganized schizophrenia.

Treatment

This form of schizophrenia is typically associated with early onset (often between the ages of 15 and 25 years) and is thought to have a poor prognosis because of the rapid development of negative symptoms and decline in social functioning. Use of

electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive th ...

has been proposed; however, the effectiveness after treatment is in question.

References

External links

{{Authority control Schizophrenia Obsolete terms for mental disorders

Presentation

Treatment

See also

References

External links