An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology Flashcards
_____, a degenerative brain disease that appears in early to middle age, usually the early 40s. This disease has been traced to a genetic defect that causes deterioration in a specific area of the brain, the basal ganglia. It causes broad changes in personality, cognitive functioning, and, particularly, motor behavior, including involuntary shaking or jerkiness throughout the body.
Huntington’s disease
_____, which can result in intellectual disability (previously called “mental retardation”). This disorder, present at birth, is caused by the inability of the body to metabolize (break down) phenylalanine, a chemical compound found in many foods. Like Huntington’s disease, _____ is caused by a defect in a single gene, with little contribution from other genes or the environmental background.
Neurological problems that may include seizures. Skin rashes (eczema)
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
In _____ studies, scientists study individuals who have the same disorder, such as bipolar disorder, and also share other features, such as eye color; because the location of the gene for eye color is known, this allows scientists to attempt to “link” known gene locations (for eye color, in this example) with the possible location of a gene contributing to the disorder.
linkage
According to this _____ model, individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviors, which may then be activated under conditions of stress.
diathesis–stress
_____ correlation model or reciprocal _____ model. Some evidence now indicates that genetic endowment may increase the probability that an individual will experience stressful life events.
For example, people with a genetic vulnerability to develop a certain disorder, such as blood–injection–injury phobia, may also have a personality trait—let’s say impulsiveness— that makes them more likely to be involved in minor accidents that would result in their seeing blood. In other words, they may be accident prone because they are continually rushing to complete things or to get to places without regard for their physical safety.
Gene–environment
Neither nature (genes) nor nurture (environmental events) alone, but rather a _____ of the two, influences the development of our behavior and personalities.
complex interaction
The human nervous system includes the central nervous system, consisting of the brain and the spinal cord, and the _____, consisting of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
The _____has three basic functions: (1) motor commands to all voluntary striated muscles; (2) sensory information about the external world and the body to the brain and spinal cord (except visual information: the optic nerves, which convey information from the retina to the brain, are in fact outgrowths from the brain); and (3) regulating autonomic functions such as blood pressure or sweating.
Most polyneuropathies impair all three types of _____ function, although disorders selectively affecting motor, sensory, or autonomic functions occur.
peripheral nervous system
The Central Nervous System
_____ have numerous receptors that receive messages in the form of chemical impulses from other nerve cells, which are converted into electrical impulses.
They function to obtain information from other cells and carry that information to the cell body
Dendrites
The Central Nervous System
The other kind of branch, called an _____, transmits these impulses to other neurons.
responsible for transmitting electrical signals to help with sensory perception and movement.
axon
The Central Nervous System
Neurons are not actually connected to each other. There is a small space through which the impulse must pass to get to the next neuron. The space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of another is called the _____.
synaptic cleft
The Central Nervous System
The biochemicals that are released from the axon of one neuron and transmit the impulse to the dendrite receptors of another neuron are called _____.
neurotransmitters
The Central Nervous System
The _____ is the lower and more ancient part of the brain. Found in most animals, this structure handles most of the essential automatic functions, such as breathing, sleeping, and moving around in a coordinated way.
brain stem
The Central Nervous System
The _____ is more advanced and evolved more recently.
forebrain
The Central Nervous System
The lowest part of the brain stem, the _____, contains the medulla, the pons, and the cerebellum. The hindbrain regulates many automatic activities, such as breathing, the pumping action of the heart (heartbeat), and digestion.
hindbrain
The Central Nervous System
The _____ controls motor coordination, and recent research suggests that abnormalities in the cerebellum may be associated with the psychological disorder autism, although the connection with motor coordination is not clear
cerebellum
The Central Nervous System
Also located in the brain stem is the _____, which coordinates movement with sensory input and contains parts of the reticular activating system, which contributes to processes of arousal and tension, such as whether we are awake or asleep
midbrain
The Central Nervous System
At the top of the brain stem are the _____, which are involved broadly with regulating behavior and emotion. These structures function primarily as a relay between the forebrain and the remaining lower areas of the brain stem.
thalamus and hypothalamus
