Abnormal Development - Mental Health

Question 1

What are the different stress types?

Answer 1

• Good stress
• Tolerable stress
• Toxic stress (negative long-term effects) = allostatic load.

Question 2

Impacts of toxic stress

Answer 2

• Disruption of brain another organ and metabolic systems (especially during sensitive periods of development)
  
  • Damage to regulation of these systems.
  • Leads to chronic mental health illnesses.
• High toxic stress and pre-bedtime cortisol elevation changes brain volume reduction and disruption of protective myelin growth
• Inhibit neurogenesis of the hippocampus
• Effects on the Amygdala, PFC and anterior insula

Question 3

Impacts of stress overload on brain

Answer 3

• Toxic stress inhibits hippocampus and contextual learning.
• Difficulty discriminating between dangerous situations and safe ones.

OFC PFC develops either to promote vigilance for danger or potential threat
Normally involved in regulating impulses and moods.
- Poor set shifting and mentalising
- Leads to poor mental regulation/impulses and less able to engage in thoughtful planning.

Question 4

What are epigenetics?

Answer 4

Environmental influences that shape the individual -
- Environmental influences changing how genes are expressed.
- Change in methylation patterns of DNA
Stressors have different effects of gene expressio

Question 5

What is an exposome?

Answer 5

Captures the essence of nurture; external forces acting upon genome throughout lifepsan.

Question 6

• Environmental factors comprising the exposome include:

Answer 6

• Where one lives
  • What one eats
  • The quality of the air one breathes
  • One’s social interactions and relationships
  • One’s lifestyle choices

Question 7

What are some epigenetic modifications?

Answer 7

• Cannot reverse epigenetic modifications
• Recovery from earlier experiences is possible by redirecting gene expression to compensate what happened.
• Recovery is possible - plasticity.

Question 8

what is allostasis?

Answer 8

turning on physiological response when needed and turn off when stressor is over.

Question 9

What is telomeres and diease?

Answer 9

• Associated with accelerate aging and disease
• Chronic stress contributes to shortening telomeres.

Question 10

what are the impacts of deprivation?

Answer 10

• Resources impacts ability to bounce back from stress.
• Creates a divide in those who have not
• Leads to significant health difficulties
• Less resources for management.

Question 11

how does anxiety develop in adolescents

Answer 11

• Large levels of stress can induce anxiety disorders
• Young children report more physiological signals of anxiety
• With puberty they develop ability to name feelings and identify anxiety cognitions.

Question 12

interventions being explored to reduce mental health issues in adolescents:

Answer 12

• Family Based Interventions
• Stress Reduction aimed at adolescents
• Programs that teach adolescents to cope with stress during the transition from elementary to middle school
  • Workshops on what stress is, how the body reacts to it and problem focused methods for coping
  • Reduce glucocorticoid levels and reductions in depression symptoms in adolescents with high levels of anger