Approaches to treatment - Biological

Question 1

Biological factors in Psychological Disorders

Answer 1

Psychological disorders often have abnormal brain structure and chemistry.

In order to ‘normalise’ abnormal function or chemistry we can use two types of modification:
Chemical
Electrical
These modifications are based on what we know about neurophysiology

Question 2

4 types of psychotropic drugs

Answer 2

antidepressants

antipsychotics

anxiolytics

psychostimulants

Question 3

3 antidepressants

Answer 3

monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)

tricyclics

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

Question 4

antidepressants controversy

Answer 4

• use of SSRIs linked to violence and suicide
• some SSRIs banned for under 18s

Question 5

antidepressant effectiveness

Answer 5

• high relapse rate of 60% when medication ceases
• benefits wane whilst still taking drug
• gender effect - SSRIs tend to work better with women rather than men

Question 6

antidepressants - ketamine

Answer 6

alternative to serotonin related treatments

acts on glutamine
immediate effect

Question 7

Limitations of ketamine

Answer 7

• possible danger of addiction
• possible psychotics side effects
• cystitis
• increases in blood pressure

Question 8

3 antipsychotics

Answer 8

phenothiazines
atypical third generation drugs
nucleus accumbens ????

Question 9

2 anxiolytics

Answer 9

benzodiazepines (reduces severe anxiety)
beta-blockers (treatment of high blood pressure)

Question 10

psychostimulants

Answer 10

methylphenidate (for ADHD)

Question 11

limitations of psychostimulants

Answer 11

• increase in BP and heart rate
• loss of appetite
• disturbed sleep patterns
• irritability
• impaired socialisation

Question 12

Neurophysiological techniques can be used either to…

Answer 12

Measure or modify brain activity
for measuring brain activity we use electroencephalograpy (EEG) or Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Question 13

For modifying brain activity we can stimulate the brain using electric current or magnetic fields: 4 types

Answer 13

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
deep brain stimulation (DBS)
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Question 14

what happens in deep brain stimulation

Answer 14

implants a ‘brain pacemaker’

this sends an electrical signal to parts of the brain that need to be stimulated

common treatment for Parkinson’s in US

Question 15

what happens in Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Answer 15

applies rapidly changing electromagnetic fields to induce electrical currents

Question 16

ECT was originally developed for the treatment of …

Answer 16

schizophrenia, however is has proved to be more effective in treating depression

Question 17

which two treatments successful for depression

Answer 17

DBS
tDCS