14. Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Which of the following types of drug would be a strong agonist?

a. One with high affinity and high efficacy
b. One with high affinity and low efficacy
c. One with low affinity and high efficacy
d. One with low affinity and low efficacy

Answer 1

a. One with high affinity and high efficacy

Question 2

Addictive drugs and other activities producing reward increase the release of the neurotransmitter ___ in the ___.

a. glutamate…hippocampus
b. dopamine…nucleus accumbens
c. GABA…basal ganglia
d. acetylcholine…occipital cortex

Answer 2

b. dopamine…nucleus accumbens

Question 3

Which of these drugs improves attention at low doses and impairs it at high doses?

a. Morphine
b. Amphetamine
c. Alcohol
d. Marijuana

Answer 3

b. Amphetamine

Question 4

Developing an addiction to a substance causes the nucleus accumbens to respond ___ strongly to that substance and ___ strongly to other rewards.

a. less…more
b. less…less
c. more…more
d. more…less

Answer 4

d. more…less

Question 5

When addiction develops, why does the individual have less ability to inhibit undesirable impulses?

a. Decreased activity in the nucleus accumbens
b. Decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex
c. Decreased release of dopamine
d. Impairment of the blood–brain barrier

Answer 5

b. Decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex

Question 6

What evidence indicates that tolerance is to a large extent learned?

a. Tolerance is greater in the location where one previously took the drug than elsewhere.
b. Tolerance is greater in highly educated people than in poorly educated people.
c. Tolerance is easily forgotten with the passage of time.
d. Telling people about the effects of a drug can produce tolerance.

Answer 6

a. Tolerance is greater in the location where one previously took the drug than elsewhere.

Question 7

What evidence indicates that many people with drug addiction had a predisposition toward abuse?

a. Brothers and sisters of the person with drug addiction show similar abnormalities of brain and behavior.
b. People with drug addiction remember having a positive experience in their first encounter with the drug.
c. Most young people can accurately predict whether they will eventually develop a drug addiction.
d. An fMRI study on newborns accurately predicted which ones would later develop drug addiction

Answer 7

a. Brothers and sisters of the person with drug addiction show similar abnormalities of brain and behavior.

Question 8

Which type of alcoholism has a stronger genetic basis? Which type has earlier onset?

a. Type I…Type I
b. Type I…Type II
c. Type II…Type I
d. Type II…Type II

Answer 8

d. Type II…Type II

Question 9

Which of the following predicts that a person is more likely than average to develop alcohol abuse?

a. Failing to experience much relief from stress after drinking a moderate amount of alcohol
b. Better than average scores on the Stop Signal task
c. Being able to drink moderate amounts of alcohol without staggering or slurred speech
d. Showing strong physical effects such as staggering or slurred speech after moderate drinking

Answer 9

c. Being able to drink moderate amounts of alcohol without staggering or slurred speech

Question 10

If someone metabolizes acetaldehyde to acetic acid more slowly than normal, how (if at all) will this tendency affect the likelihood of alcohol abuse?

a. It will increase the likelihood of alcohol abuse.
b. It will have no significant effect on the likelihood of alcohol abuse.
c. It will decrease the likelihood of alcohol abuse.

Answer 10

c. It will decrease the likelihood of alcohol abuse

Question 11

What is the advantage of taking methadone instead of morphine or heroin?

a. Methadone is not addictive.
b. Someone can gradually taper off methadone and become drug-free.
c. Methadone is readily available without a prescription.
d. Methadone satisfies the craving without seriously disrupting behavior.

Answer 11

d. Methadone satisfies the craving without seriously disrupting behavior.

Question 12

Which of the following is the most typical outcome after someone develops major depression?

a. The person will remain seriously depressed for life.
b. The depression will grow worse over time.
c. The person will alternate between episodes of depression and periods of normal mood.
d. The person will recover without any likelihood of returning to depression.

Answer 12

c. The person will alternate between episodes of depression and periods of normal mood.

Question 13

Relatives of people with late-onset depression have an increased probability of what type of disorder?

a. Anxiety disorders
b. Circulatory problems
c. Alcohol abuse
d. Migraine headaches

Answer 13

b. Circulatory problems

Question 14

Which of the following is a likely reason why it has been difficult to identify a gene associated with depression?

a. Depression does not have a genetic basis.
b. Only early-onset depression has a genetic basis.
c. Certain genes link to depression only in people who have undergone severe stress.
d. Researchers have studied only animal models, not humans.

Answer 14

c. Certain genes link to depression only in people who have undergone severe stress.

Question 15

How do tricyclic drugs block the reuptake of serotonin and other neurotransmitters?

a. They lock the transporter protein into one position.
b. The transporter protein transports the tricyclic drug instead of the neurotransmitter.
c. They chemically bond with the neurotransmitter, making a molecule that is too large to cross the membrane.
d. They make the fluid in the synaptic cleft more viscous, inhibiting the motion of molecules.

Answer 15

a. They lock the transporter protein into one position.

Question 16

What is the advantage of SSRIs compared to tricyclic drugs?

a. They produce their antidepressant benefits more quickly.
b. They help a larger percentage of people with depression.
c. They produce milder side effects.
d. They are less expensive.

Answer 16

c.They produce milder side effects.

Question 17

What is the disadvantage of using St. John’s wort as an antidepressant?

a. St. John’s wort is more expensive than standard antidepressant drugs.
b. St. John’s wort is less effective and produces benefits more slowly.
c. St. John’s wort decreases the effectiveness of other drugs someone might be taking.
d. St. John’s wort cannot be obtained legally.

Answer 17

c.St. John’s wort decreases the effectiveness of other drugs someone might be taking.

Question 18

Which of the following is evidence against the idea that antidepressant drugs relieve depression simply by elevating neurotransmitter levels?

a. The dose of drug necessary for relieving depression is greater than the amount necessary to elevate neurotransmitter levels.
b. The drugs quickly affect levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters but take weeks to alter mood.
c. The drugs become less and less effective in relieving depression after weeks of use.
d. Several procedures other than antidepressant drugs are also effective in relieving depression

Answer 18

b.The drugs quickly affect levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters but take weeks to alter mood.

Question 19

If you are already in a normal mood, could you make yourself feel even better by taking antidepressant drugs? If not, why not?

a. Yes, you could. Antidepressant drugs are equally effective for everyone.
b. No, you could not. Laws prevent doctors from prescribing antidepressant drugs for anyone who is not depressed.
c. No, you could not. Antidepressant drugs promote new learning that competes with depressed thoughts. Someone without depressed thoughts has little to gain.
d. No, you could not. If people in a normal mood take antidepressants, they experience worse side effects than depressed people do.

Answer 19

c.No, you could not. Antidepressant drugs promote new learning that competes with depressed thoughts. Someone without depressed thoughts has little to gain.

Question 20

Physicians prescribe drug A for a large group of depressed patients. Six weeks later they switch to drug B for every patient who did not respond to drug A. Many of these patients show improvement over the next few weeks. What conclusion, if any, follows?

a. Drug B is more effective than drug A.
b. Some people respond to drug B but not to drug A.
c. Any switch in drugs increases patients’ motivation and therefore helps them recover.
d. None of these conclusions follows.

Answer 20

d.None of these conclusions follows.

Question 21

How does the effectiveness of psychotherapy compare to that of antidepressant drugs?

a. Psychotherapy helps a higher percentage of depressed patients.
b. Antidepressant drugs help a higher percentage of depressed patients.
c. Patients who would respond to psychotherapy do not respond to antidepressant drugs, and vice versa.
d. Psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs help about an equal percentage of patients, and mostly the same patients

Answer 21

d.Psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs help about an equal percentage of patients, and mostly the same patients

Question 22

Which of these is a major disadvantage of ECT?

a. Its benefits don’t last long.
b. Its benefits develop slowly.
c. It helps only a small percentage of patients.
d. It causes permanent memory damage.

Answer 22

a.Its benefits don’t last long.

Question 23

What is the most common sleep problem of people with depression?

a. They sleep without dreaming.
b. They have trouble falling asleep.
c. They awaken early and cannot get back to sleep.
d. They fall asleep suddenly in the middle of the day.

Answer 23

c.They awaken early and cannot get back to sleep.

Question 24

Which of the following has been shown to decrease the probability of a renewed episode of bipolar disorder?

a. Uric acid
b. Avoidance of bright lights
c. Consistent, adequate sleep
d. A high carbohydrate diet

Answer 24

c.Consistent, adequate sleep

Question 25

Where is seasonal affective disorder most common?

a. Near the equator
b. Nearer the poles
c. Close to the ocean
d. In the mountains

Answer 25

b.Nearer the poles

Question 26

Keeping someone’s working memory busy with an unrelated task causes normal, healthy people to produce which of these items that are characteristic of schizophrenia?

a. Hallucinations
b. Delusions
c. Loss of emotion and social behavior
d. Incoherent speech

Answer 26

d.Incoherent speech

Question 27

Schizophrenia is more common than average in which of the following types of people?

a. People with allergies
b. People who live in cities
c. People who move from Europe to one of the Caribbean countries
d. People who eat a diet rich in fish

Answer 27

b.People who live in cities

Question 28

What is the conclusion from twin studies regarding schizophrenia?

a. Monozygotic twins are more likely to develop schizophrenia than are dizygotic twins.
b. Monozygotic twins are more likely to be concordant for schizophrenia than are dizygotic twins.
c. Dizygotic twins are more likely to be concordant for schizophrenia than are monozygotic twins.
d. Monozygotic and dizygotic twins are equally likely to be concordant for schizophrenia.

Answer 28

b.Monozygotic twins are more likely to be concordant for schizophrenia than are dizygotic twins.

Question 29

Which of the following is currently the most plausible statement about the role of genetics in schizophrenia?

a. An aberrant form of the DISC1 gene causes schizophrenia.
b. One gene is responsible for schizophrenia, but investigators have not yet found that gene.
c. Many mutations or microdeletions can increase the probability of schizophrenia.
d. Schizophrenia is not related to genetics.

Answer 29

c.Many mutations or microdeletions can increase the probability of schizophrenia.

Question 30

Which of the following has NOT been shown to increase the risk of schizophrenia?

a. Being born during the winter
b. Having a pet cat in childhood
c. Having a father over age 55
d. Living near the ocean

Answer 30

d.Living near the ocean

Question 31

If schizophrenia is due to abnormal brain development in early life, how can we account for the fact that behavioral symptoms are not apparent until later in life?

a. Schizophrenia impairs only social behavior, which is more important in adulthood.
b. Other people do not notice the problems until the person is old enough to seek employment.
c. A prime area of damage is the prefrontal cortex, which matures very slowly.
d. Symptoms of brain abnormality do not emerge until the person encounters stress.

Answer 31

c.A prime area of damage is the prefrontal cortex, which matures very slowly.

Question 32

According to the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, what is the chemical basis for schizophrenia?

a. Deficient synthesis of dopamine
b. Lack of sufficient dopamine type 1 receptors
c. Lack of sufficient dopamine type 2 receptors
d. Excessive activity at dopamine synapses

Answer 32

d.Excessive activity at dopamine synapses

Question 33

What is an alternative to the hypothesis that schizophrenia relates to excess dopamine activity?

a. Increased reuptake of serotonin by the presynaptic neuron
b. Decreased glutamate activity in the prefrontal cortex
c. Decreased metabolism in the cerebellum
d. Increased adenosine levels in the hypothalamus

Answer 33

b.Decreased glutamate activity in the prefrontal cortex

Question 34

What are the synaptic effects of glycine?

a. It directly stimulates glutamate receptors.
b. It facilitates the effects of glutamate.
c. It directly stimulates acetylcholine receptors.
d. It facilitates the effects of acetylcholine.

Answer 34

b.It facilitates the effects of glutamate.

Question 35

In what way is the genetic basis of autism similar to that of schizophrenia?

a. In both, most cases can be traced to a mutation in the DISC1 gene.
b. In both, most cases probably result from new mutations or microdeletions.
c. In both, a single dominant gene is responsible for the condition.
d. In both, the genes exert their effects by altering topoisomerases.

Answer 35

b.In both, most cases probably result from new mutations or microdeletions.

Question 36

What dietary supplement during pregnancy decreases the probability of having an autistic child?

a. Calcium
b. Vitamin C
c. Fish oil
d. Folic acid

Answer 36

d.Folic acid

Question 37

Is a drug with high affinity and low efficacy an agonist or an antagonist?

Answer 37

It is an antagonist because, by occupying the receptor, it blocks out the neurotransmitter.

Question 38

How do opiates influence dopamine synapses?

Answer 38

Opiates stimulate endorphin synapses, which inhibit neurons that inhibit release of dopamine. By inhibiting an inhibitor, opiates increase the release of dopamine.

Question 39

What do drug use, sex, gambling, and video game playing have in common?

Answer 39

They increase the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

Question 40

How is the wanting versus liking distinction helpful in understanding addiction?

Answer 40

Many people with an addiction say it provides them with more distress than pleasure. Therefore, they don’t “like” it very much anymore. However, they continue to crave it (want it) strongly.

Question 41

When addiction develops, how does the nucleus accumbens change its response to the addictive activity and to other reinforcements?

Answer 41

The nucleus accumbens increases its response to the addictive activity and decreases its response to other reinforcers.

Question 42

Someone who is quitting an addictive substance for the first time is strongly counseled not to try it again. Why?

Answer 42

Taking an addictive drug during the withdrawal period is likely to lead to a habit of using the drug to relieve other kinds of distress.

Question 43

What is the similarity between the long form of the dopamine type 4 receptor and the more active form of the COMT enzyme?

Answer 43

Both are linked to an increased risk of alcohol abuse, probably by making it harder to receive a normal amount of reinforcement. The long form of the dopamine type 4 receptor is less sensitive to dopamine. The more active form of the COMT enzyme breaks down dopamine more rapidly and therefore reduces the reinforcement it produces.

Question 44

What are two ways sons of alcoholics differ behaviorally, on average, from sons of nonalcoholics?

Answer 44

Sons of alcoholics show less intoxication, including less body sway, after drinking a moderate amount of alcohol. They also show greater relief from stress after drinking alcohol.

Question 45

How does Antabuse work?

Answer 45

Antabuse blocks the enzyme that converts acetaldehyde to acetic acid. It therefore makes people sick if they drink alcohol. Potentially, it could teach people an aversion to alcohol, but more often, it works as a way for the person to make a daily recommitment to abstain from drinking.

Question 46

Methadone users who try taking heroin experience little effect from it. Why?

Answer 46

Because methadone is already occupying the endorphin receptors, heroin cannot add much stimulation to them.

Question 47

What evidence suggests two types of depression influenced by different genes?

Answer 47

Relatives of people with early-onset depression have a high risk of depression and many other psychological disorders. Relatives of people with late-onset depression have a high probability of circulatory problems.

Question 48

What did Caspi and colleagues report to be the relationship between depression and the gene controlling the serotonin transporter protein?

Answer 48

People with the short form of the gene are more likely than other people to react to stressful experiences by becoming depressed. However, in the absence of stressful experiences, their probability is not increased.

Question 49

Some people offer to train you to use the right hemisphere of your brain more strongly, allegedly to increase creativity. If they were successful, can you see any disadvantage?

Answer 49

People with predominant right-hemisphere activity and decreased left-hemisphere activity show an increased tendency toward depression.

Question 50

What are the effects of tricyclic drugs?

Answer 50

Tricyclic drugs block reuptake of serotonin and catecholamines. They also block histamine receptors, acetylcholine receptors, and certain sodium channels, thereby producing unpleasant side effects.

Question 51

What are the effects of SSRIs?

Answer 51

SSRIs selectively inhibit the reuptake of serotonin.

Question 52

What are the effects of MAOIs?

Answer 52

MAOIs block the enzyme MAO, which breaks down catecholamines and serotonin. The result is increased availability of these transmitters.

Question 53

In what way does the time course of antidepressants conflict with the idea that they improve mood by increasing neurotransmitter levels?

Answer 53

Antidepressants produce their effects on serotonin and other neurotransmitters quickly, but their behavioral benefits develop gradually over 2 to 3 weeks.

Question 54

As opposed to an interpretation in terms of neurotransmitter levels, what is an alternative explanation for the benefits of antidepressant drugs?

Answer 54

Antidepressant drugs increase production of BDNF, which gradually promotes growth of new neurons in the hippocampus and new learning.

Question 55

As depression becomes more severe, what happens to the percentage of patients showing improvement while taking antidepressant drugs or placebos?

Answer 55

For more severe cases, the percentage of patients who improve remains about the same for patients taking antidepressant drugs, but fewer patients taking placebos show improvement.

Question 56

What is an advantage of psychotherapy over antidepressant drugs?

Answer 56

People who respond well to psychotherapy have a lower risk of later relapse than people who respond to antidepressant drugs. Also, antidepressant drugs produce unpleasant side effects.

Question 57

How can one decrease the memory loss associated with ECT?

Answer 57

ECT over just the right hemisphere produces less memory loss.

Question 58

What change in sleep habits sometimes relieves depression?

Answer 58

Getting people with depression to go to bed earlier sometimes relieves depression.

Question 59

What are two common treatments for bipolar disorder

Answer 59

.The common treatments for bipolar disorder are lithium salts and certain anticonvulsant drugs—valproate and carbamazepine.

Question 60

What are the advantages of bright light treatment compared to antidepressant drugs?

Answer 60

It is cheaper, has no side effects, and produces its benefits more quickly.

Question 61

Why are hallucinations considered a positive symptom?

Answer 61

Hallucinations are considered a positive symptom because they are present when they should be absent. A “positive” symptom is not a “good” symptom.

Question 62

Someone with the symptoms of schizophrenia might not qualify for the diagnosis. Why not?

Answer 62

Other conditions such as drug abuse or brain damage can produce similar symptoms

Question 63

The fact that adopted children who develop schizophrenia usually have biological relatives with schizophrenia implies a probable genetic basis. What other interpretation is possible?

Answer 63

A biological mother can influence her child’s development through prenatal environment as well as genetics.

Question 64

Why would it be unlikely that a single gene was responsible for schizophrenia?

Answer 64

.People with schizophrenia have fewer children than other people do. Natural selection should steadily decrease the prevalence of any such gene.

Question 65

According to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis, when do the brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia originate?

Answer 65

Before birth or in early childhood.

Question 66

Now that we see that brain abnormalities do not continue to grow worse over time, what is the implication for the possibility of recovery?

Answer 66

The prospects for recovery are more encouraging than they would seem if the brain were continuing to deteriorate over time. With any type of brain damage, some degree of recovery over time is likely.

Question 67

The ability of traditional antipsychotic drugs to relieve schizophrenia correlates strongly with what effect on neurotransmitters?

Answer 67

Their ability to relieve schizophrenia correlates strongly with how well they block activity at dopamine synapses.

Question 68

What drugs induce mainly the positive symptoms of schizophrenia? What drug can induce both positive and negative symptoms?

Answer 68

Abuse of amphetamine, cocaine, or LSD induces positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions. Phencyclidine induces both positive and negative symptoms.

Question 69

Why are the effects of antipsychotic drugs equally compatible with the dopamine hypothesis and the glutamate hypothesis?

Answer 69

Dopamine inhibits glutamate cells in many areas, and glutamate stimulates neurons that inhibit dopamine. Therefore, the effects of increasing dopamine are similar to those of decreasing glutamate

Question 70

How can researchers determine whether a mutation or microdeletion has arisen anew?

Answer 70

They compare the child’s chromosome to those of the parents. If neither parent has that mutation or microdeletion, then it arose anew. They can also examine surrounding genes to determine whether the chromosome came from the father or the mother.

Question 71

For which aspect of autistic behavior is a medication sometimes prescribed?

Answer 71

Risperidone, an antipsychotic drug, is sometimes prescribed to control repetitive stereotyped behaviors, at the risk of serious side effects.