2 - Models of Psychopathology Flashcards
List the five models of psychopathology
Biological; Psychodynamic; Humanistic; Behavioural; Cognitive
The Biomedical model investigates the degree that mental disorders are determined by genetics . It studies gene-environment interactions via which four methods?
Pedigree method (identifies proband, prevalence in family; Classical twin design (compares concordance rates for DZ and MZ twins); Adoption studies (compares concordance to biological vs. adopted relatives); Molecular genetics (candidate/wide genome associations)
What can we assume if MZ concordance rates are higher than DZ twins?
Contributions are due to genetics
What can we assume when MZ=DZ and both show high concordance rates, compared with low concordance rates?
If high concordance: contributions are due to shared environment; If low: non-shared environmental contributions
Compare Candidate gene studies with Genome wide association studies, and explain which candidate is the strongest predictor of AD
Candidate - observes whether one specific allele of a candidate gene is more frequently seen in people with the disorder than those without it; Genome wide - assesses common variations across the entire genome; ApoE-e4 is the strongest predictor (34% of people with AD have it)
The Biomedical model recognises what three contributing factors to the aetiology of mental disorders?
Biochemistry; Neuroanatomy; Endocrine system
Most drug therapies increase or decrease the activity of specific neurotransmitters, but the effects are very broad and don’t act in isolation. List four neurotransmitter systems involved in these therapies
Seretonin; Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA); Noradrenaline; Dopamine
What does the Serotonin system regulate, and what is low activity associated with?
Behaviour, mood and thought processes; Aggression, suicide, impulsive overeating, hyper-sexual behaviour
Which drugs are known to primarily affect the serotonin system and reduce anxiety?
Tricyclic antidepressants; serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors (e.g. prozac)
What function does Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) serve, and which drugs make it easier for these molecules to attach to receptors of specialised neurons?
Inhibits a variety of behaviours and emotions; reduces overall arousal (has anxiolytic effects); Benzodiazepines (act at the level of neurotransmission)
Which glands secrete noradrenaline, and where are noradrenaline circuits located in the CNS?
Adrenal glands; circuits located in the hindbrain (controlling basic bodily functions, e.g. respiration; and fight or flight responses)
Which circuits do Dopamine circuits merge with, and what role does it serve?
Merges with Serotonin (influences many of the same behaviours); relays messages to control movements, mood and thought processes (damaged cells leads to Parkinson’s)
What is the hindbrain responsible for?
Bodily functions involved in sustaining life and regulation of sleep
What functions is the midbrain involved with?
Regulation of some motor activities (fighting and sex) and sleep
The forebrain is the site of what kind of functioning
Most sensory, emotional and cognitive functioning (includes the limbic system)
What can damage to the Reticular Activating System in the midbrain, and Orbitofrontal Cortex lead to?
RAS: disturbances in sexual behaviour, aggression and sleep; OFC: disinhibited behaviour
Which neural areas are involved in theory of mind?
Temporoparietal junction and dorsal lateral PFC
What areas are responsible for empathy?
Dorsal ACC and anterior insula
What areas are involved in social perception?
Posterior STS; fusiform face area and amygdala
Which regions control social behaviour?
VMPFC and OFC
What body organs make up the endocrine system?
Pineal, pituitary, parathyroid, thyroid and thymus glands, stomach, adrenal glands, pancreas, kidney, ovaries and testis
The endocrine organs produce hormones. What are the functions of these, and via what route are the messages transmitted?
They help regulate the body’s physiological processes, and coordinate internal bodily processes with external events; transmitted via the bloodstream (prolonged stress can cause dysfunction)
Where is the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-cortical (HYPAC) axis located, what does it control?
Where the hypothalamus and endocrine system interact; controls reactions to stress
The hypothalamus connects to which adjacent gland, and what may this gland, in turn, stimulate?
Pituitary gland (coordinator of the endocrine system); which may stimulate the cortical (outer layers) of adrenal glands to produce surges of adrenalin and cortisol
As well as electroconvulsive shock treatment, pharmacotherapy is used as a biological treatment (often discovered serendipitously, e.g. John Cade - lithium). But what problems can occur with prescription drugs?
Side effects (anti-depressant induced suicide, weight gain and mood swings, etc), and an over-reliance on them (2013-14 in US - drug with highest sales was an antipsychotic & 8th highest an antidepressant; 1/4 of children in US summer camps medicated for psychiatric disorders)
Peter Gøtzsche claims that drug companies don’t sell drugs, they sell lies, and that they’re the 3rd leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. What does he suggest are the main reasons for these deaths?
“Dishonesty in research and marketing of drugs, permissive drug regulation, over-medicalisation, polypharmacy, and a lack of understanding about the harms of drugs”