For the Classroom

Guess the Disorder Quiz: Schizophrenia

  • Published28 Jun 2018
  • Reviewed28 Jun 2018
  • Author Emma Lindberg
  • Source BrainFacts/SfN

Synopsis  

Neurologists and psychiatrists work every day to diagnose patients. One way they do this is by observing patients and asking them to describe their symptoms. In this activity, students will fill the role of a neurologist trying to diagnose a disease or disorder based on the evidence provided.

After studying the provided materials on diseases and disorders in the eighth edition of Brain Facts, students will investigate the symptoms of an unnamed disease using a handful of clues. Students will sift through their knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases, injury, and psychiatric disorders to eliminate wrong answers and solve the mystery.

Prep Work

This activity is based on chapters 11–15 (pages 71–104) of the eighth edition of Brain Facts. Encourage students to read the chapters during class time or on their own to study for the Guess the Disorder Quiz.

Instructions

  1. Provide your student with the “Disorder Clues” prompt.
  2. Ask your students to read the prompt and use the information they learned from the Brain Facts book to determine the diagnosis. This can be done individually or as a group.

Optional

After your students have completed the quiz, ask them to share their answers with the class. Ask each student or group to give their rationale as to why they chose the diagnosis they did.

Disorder Clues

This disorder is a lifelong, severe psychiatric disorder that seriously disturbs thinking, emotion, and behavior. People with this disorder appear to have lost touch with reality. They experience “positive” symptoms such as:

  • Hallucinations
  • Delusions
  • Confused thinking

And “negative” symptoms, including:

  • An inability to experience pleasure
  • A severe lack of motivation

Like many psychiatric disorders that first emerge when the human brain matures in the late teens and early 20s, this disorder usually appears between ages 15 and 25.

Answer 

Schizophrenia

CONTENT PROVIDED BY

BrainFacts/SfN

Educator Resources

Explain the brain to your students with a variety of teaching tools and resources.

Explore

BrainFacts Book

Download a copy of the newest edition of the book, Brain Facts: A Primer on the Brain and Nervous System.

Download

Image of the Week

Check out the Image of the Week Archive.

Explore