17: Treatment of Psychological Disorders - Biological Approaches to Treatment

Question 1

Drug Therapies

Psychopharmacology

Question 2

Drug Therapies

Anti-Anxiety Drugs

Answer 2

Anti-anxiety drugs designed to reduce anxiety without affecting alertness or concentration

• One drawback is psychological and physical dependence
• Newer drug called buspirone is slow acting, has fewer fatiguing side effects, and has less potential for abuse
• Slows down excitatory synaptic activity by affecting GABA

Question 3

Drug Therapies

Antidepressant Drugs

three major categories:

1. Tricyclics

Answer 3

increase activity of excitatory neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin

• Prevent reuptake of transmitters

Question 4

Drug Therapies

Antidepressant Drugs

three major categories:

2. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors

Answer 4

same effect as tricyclics through different method

• Reduces activity of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitters
• Can cause dangerous elevations in blood pressure when taken with certain foods

Question 5

Drug Therapies

Antidepressant Drugs

three major categories:

3. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

Answer 5

increases activity of only serotonin

• Many patients experience nervousness, insomnia, sweating, joint pain, or sexual dysfunction
• Gradually replacing tricyclics because of milder side effects and more rapid reducing of depressive symptoms

Question 6

Drug Therapies

Antipsychotic Drugs

Answer 6

Antipsychotic drugs have allowed severely disordered people to leave the hospital setting

Question 7

Drug Therapies

Antipsychotic Drugs

Reserpine

Answer 7

drug from root of snakeroot plant, found to calm psychotic patients

Question 8

Drug Therapies

Antipsychotic Drugs

Synthetic Antipsychotic Drugs (major tranquilizers)

Answer 8

used to treat schizophrenic disorders

• Primary effect is to decrease action of dopamine
• Have dramatic effect in reduction of positive symptoms, but little effect on negative symptoms

Question 9

Drug Thereapies

Antipsychotic Drugs

Tardive Dyskinesia Disorder

Answer 9

an irreversible motor disorder that can occur as a side effect of certain antipsychotic drugs

Question 10

Drug Therapies

Antipsychotic Drugs

Clozapine

Answer 10

New drug called clozapine reduces both positive and negative symptoms

Question 11

Research Foundations

Drug vs. Psychological Treatments for Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Question 12

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Answer 12

Biomedical technique involving application of electrical current to brain, primarily used to reduce severe depression

• Cannot relieve anxiety disorders, and is of questionable value for schizophrenics
• Based on observation that schizophrenia and epilepsy rarely occur in the same person
• Patient is given a sedative and muscle relaxant to prevent injuries from convulsions

Question 13

Psychosurgery

Answer 13

Refers to surgical procedures that remove or destroy brain tissue to change disordered behaviour

• Least used of biomedical procedures

Question 14

Psychosurgery

Egas Moniz

Answer 14

reported that cutting nerve tracts connecting frontal lobes with subcortical areas of brain involved in emotion resulted in calming of violent patients

• Follow up research found that lobotomy caused seizures, memory impairment, and other side effec

Question 15

Psychosurgery

Cingulotomy

Answer 15

involves cutting a small fibre bundle near the corpus collosum that connects the frontal lobes with the limbic system

• Seems effective in treating OCD

Question 16

Mind, Body, and Therapeutic Interventions