Biological Approach Flashcards
What are the three assumptions of the biological approach?
- Behaviour can be explained by neurotransmitters
- Behaviour can be explained by localisation of brain function
- Behaviour can be explained by evolutionary influences
What are neurotransmitters and give two examples
Neurotransmitters are chemical messegers, which carry chemical signals from one neuron to another via synaptic transmission
Examples=Serotonin and dopamine
What is a synapse?
Gap between neurons where chemicals can diffuse across. The gap occurs between the axon of the pre-neuron and the dendtrites of the post-neuron
What is the role of the axon and the dendrites?
Axon=carry the impulse away
Dendrites=carry impulses to the next neuron
How are neurotransmitters and mental health related and give two examples
Different neurotransmitters have different effects on our behaviour
* Serotonin~linked to regulation of mood,sleep and appetite=too little can lead to depression
* Dopamine~linked to pleasure,satisfaction and motivation=associated with symptoms of schizophrenia
What are the four lobes of the brain and give their roles
- Frontal=thinking and creativity,language production (Broca’s area),motor area
- Parietal=sensory information e.g touch and pain
- Occipital=visual information and processing
- Temporal=auditory information e.g speech comprehension and memory
What would an injury to the frontal lobe lead to?
Loss of fine motor skills (grasp)-changes to personality , broca’s aphrasia (trouble producing speach
What case study supports that behaviour can be explained by localisation of brain function with description
Phineas Gage
Personality altered greatly following damage to the frontal lobe
What does evolutionary psychology suggest?
Human behaviour is a result of evolutionary processes, such as ‘survival of the fitttest’
What are adpative behavioural traits with an example?
Genetically determined behaviour which will increase chance of survival
Fear of the dark (nyctophobia)=humans were likely to be hunted by other predators in the dark~this lead to humans’ fight or flight response to be on high alert during the night
What’s the therapy for the biological approach?
Drug Therapy
What are the components of drug therapy?
- Antipsychotic drugs
- Antidepressant drugs
- Antianxiety drugs
Give examples of each type
What are the two types of antipsychotic drigs and how do they work?
Conventional (haldol) and Atypical (clorazil)
Reuce the amount of dopamine produced in the brain, dopamine is linked to pleasure, this is done by binding to dopamine receptors C~permanent and A~temporary
What are the side effects of antipsychotic drugs?
- Sleepiness
- Emotional effects
- Tardive dyskinesia
Give an example
How do antidepressant drugs work?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Prozac)
These work by blocking the transport mechanis, that reabsorbs serotonin into the presynoptic cell=More serotonin available to excite the neurons
What are the side effects of antidepressant drugs?
- Drowsiness
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Worsening of symptoms
What are the types of antianxiety drugs and how do they work?
Benzodiazepines (diazapem)~Slows activty of CNS this is done by enhancing the activty of GABA (relievs stress)
Beta Blockers (sotalol)~binds to receptors on cells on the areas of the body that becomes aroused e.g. heart
What are the side effects of antianxiety drugs?
- Drowsiness
- Light-headedness
- Confusion
What are the effectivenss strengths and limitations of drug therapy?
Research support, Comparison to other therapies and side effects
What is the research support for drug therapy?
Kahn (1986): Followed patients for 8 weeks finding that BZs were more effective at treating anxiety than placebos
This shows that drugs are effective when used in randomised trials
Why do anti-anxiety medication work
What does the research support for drug therapy suggest?
This suggests that drug therapy is effective, as patients who were given anti-anxiety medication (BZs) were found to have an improvement in their symptoms
This is due to the BZs affecting the GABA receptors in the brain=improved anxiety symptoms by impacting the CNS
Why is drug therapy better than some other therapies?
Compared to treatments such as psychotherapy and CBT. Drug therapy is relatively cheap for the patient, particularly for patients in the UK due to the NHS
Why is drug therapy in comparison to other therapies a strength?
Futhermore, the practicioner doesn’t need to invest as much time in patients, with drug therapy they only have to meet every couple months to discuss any progress
This is a strength as drug therapy is easier to administer and more efficent than other types of therapy
What is the case study for side effects of drug therapy and why is it weakness?
Soomro(2008): Found that all drugs have unpleasant side effects. For example nausea, headachnes and insomnia are all side ffects of SSRI’s
In some cases this may off-puting for particular patients
What is a counterarguement for side effects of drug therapy?
However, compared to the severity of symptoms of particular mental illnesses, e.g schizophrenia can cause hallucinations, we must consider whether the treatment with side effects is greater than simply leaving the mental illness untreated
Why are side effects of aversion therapy a weakness?
This is a weakness as the side effects may make more patients unwilling to be treated for their mental illnesses. However, we must take into consideration that the severity of the symptoms of the mental illness is worth the side effects
One strength
What are the three ethical points of drug therapy?
- Use of placebos to mentally ill patients
- Informed consent regarding information about drugs
- Protection from serious harm
What is the case for the use of placebos on mentally ill patients and how could it be improved?
A patient could be left at a disadvantage if they are suffering from a MH condition and are not receiving any medication for this
Researchers should use a control condition with an existing effective drug, when testing a new treatment
Describe the last two points of the use of placebos to mentally ill patients paragraph for drug therapy
- In biological trials to give patients drugs that are considered inferior is unethical~substituting an effective drug is unethicak
- Weakness as patients are exposed to a treatment that is less effective than existing medication
Describe the informed consent paragraph for drug therapy
- Lack of valid, informed consent
- This means medical professions may withhold some information about the drugs
- Example=may not fully explain that the pharmacological benefits of the drugs are slim
- Weakness as patients are not accuratley told the truth and may lead to high expectations
Describe the protection from serious harm for drug therapy
- In some cases drugs protect patients who are at risk of harming themselves and others
- In cases where the P is experiancing severe symptoms e.g hallucinations drug therapy is the only way to improve
- Due to biological intervention that DT provides, it’s able to target causes of MH conditions e.g abundance of neurotransmitters in the brain
- Strength as DT is able to target and treat MH illnesses that have a biological cause
What is the biological approach debate and what are the three themes?
The ethics of neuroscience
1. Treating criminal behaviour
2. Enhance neurological function
3. Potential to cure disease
What is the case study for treating criminal behaviour?
Studies levels of agression and impulsivity in people with a history of coduct disorder and criminsl behaviour
Half the participant received a placebo and the other half received paroxetine
What are the findings of the case study for treating criminal behaviour?
The people who received paroxeine showed a decrease in impulsive response and agression
Suggests pharmological treatment can be used to reduce recidivism
What is the against point for treating criminal behaviour?
Despite a possible link to neurological imbalances, criminal behaviour is due to the social context
What is the case study against treating criminal behaviour?
A study suggested that if courts decided to use neurological interventions, it shows the ignorance of an individual’s free will
What does the case study against treating criminal behaviour suggest and what is a social implication of it?
Although neurological imbalances have a part in criminal behaviour, it is not the deciding factor. This means that the pharmalogical trearments may not work on all criminals
S.E.E=This may lead to important mental health illnesses being ignored in the justice system
What is the case study for enhancing neurological function?
This means that neuroscience could be used to improve the abilities of individuals
Example=Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) is when a small electrical current is passed through the specific regions of the brsind
What does the case study for enhancing neurological function suggest and what are the implications of it?
This suggests that students could use TDCS before exams in order to improve their academic performance
S.E.E=This may pressure students to do TDCS in order to be better than other students
This is a strength as it could be used for neuroenhancment
What is the study for against enhancing neurological function?
A study warned people to be warry of TDCS limitations such as lack of training or liscensing rules for practicioners
What are the last two point of the against enhancing neurological function?
AS a result of this poorly qualified clinicians may administer ineffective treatments or cause brain damage to patients
Neuroscience isn’t ethical as it has the potential to cause brain damage to patients which could have a serious impact on their lives and be irreversible
What is the case study for neuroscience’s potential to cure disease?
Neuroscience has helped the development of effective treatments for MH disorders such as depression via SSRIs
What are the last two point for neuroscience’s potential to cure disease?
Neuroscience is beneficial in treating disorders and reducing symptoms of said disorders
Neuroscience is ethical as advances in neuroscience has lead to the development of succesful treatments
What is the against point for neuroscience’s potential to cure disease and what research suppports it?
Treatments developed from knowledge of neuroscience can have issues
For example, a researcher investigated a range of studies which involved anti-depressents and stated that people were twice as likely to comitt suicide than those given a placebo
What are the last two points for against neuroscience’s potential to cure disease?
This means that the treatments can cause further psychological or physical harm e.g memory impairment
