biological therapy - psychosurgery

Question 1

what is the biological approach to psychosurgery

Answer 1

they treat psychological disorder like physical ones (medical model of mental illness)

Question 2

what is a pre frontal lobotomy

Answer 2

traditional method - drill 2 holes in skull and push leucotome into the brain, move leucotome side to side to sever the confections between the frontal lobe and the rest of the brain - help schitzophenia, bipolar, depression

Question 3

what is a trans orbital lobotomy

Answer 3

patient knocked unconscious 5-10 mins using electro convulsive therapy. an orbitoclast (ice pick) inserted under the eyelid and into the back of the eyelid ( thinnest part of skull) - break through and separate frontal lobe from brain - repeat on other eye- help schizophrenia, depression

Question 4

what is a bilateral cingulotomy

Answer 4

an incision is made in the nerves of the brain using an MRI to help guide the instruments. used to treat OCD where the circuit between the thalamus and occipital nerve is overactive

Question 5

what is deep brain stimulation

Answer 5

surgeon threads wires through skull- no tissue destruction- wires are inserted into a battery pack in patients chest. batteries provide an adjustable high frequency current that disrupts brain activity (using MRI and brain scans) this can be TURNED OFF if doesn’t work. treat parkinson’s + OCD

Question 6

list some ethical concerns

Answer 6

can a person with an unmanageable mental illness give informed consent?
it cannot be reversed so patients have less control
symptoms may worsen
side effects eg in trans orbital lobotomy 2 black eyes

Question 7

how does this link to the assumption ‘behaviour can be explained by neurotransmitters?’

Answer 7

neurotransmitters are a chemical signal through synapses. if these are broken the chemical signal cannot pass through and the behaviour is terminated

Question 8

evaluate psychosurgery VS drug therapy

Answer 8

DRUG THERAPY - easier to administer-less invasive - reversible - more suitable than psychosurgery for children as brains are still developing
PSYCHOSURGERY- permanent so positive if symptoms improve- children may find it hard/ not want to take the medication