biological treatment for depression- DRUGS Flashcards
what is the drug treatment for depression? what do they do?
psychoactive drugs that change the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain
what is the psychiatrist’s role? (2)
- prescribe
- adjust the quantity of the drug
how can you get psychoactive drugs? (2)
- available on prescription
- [atients will be monitored to ensure their response to the drugs
what are the 2 main types of psychoactive drugs used nowadays to treat depression?
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
- Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
how do SSRI’s work? (2)
- stop the reuptake of serotonin to the presynaptic bulb
- means there will be more in the synapse
how do MAOI’s work? (2)
stop monoamine oxidase doing its job
-means it doesn’t break down the monoamines and their number increases
what are 2 supporting studies of drug treatment treating depression?
- Jarrett et al- found MAOI’s more effective than tricyclics for treating severe depression- less side effects
- Nulman et al- found no deleterious effects on cog or lang functions in children whose mothers had undergone drug treatment for depression during pregnancy
what are strengths of using drug treatment to treat depression? (2)
- drugs act relatively quickly allowing stabilisation of patient’s condition- important for ‘at risk’ patients
- allows patients to return to and function effectively in the community/society
what are 2 studies conflicting the use of drug treatment on people with depression?
- Muller- Netherlands study found 76% who didn’t receive treatment still recovered and did not relapse
- Rausch et al- found success of SSRI’s dependent on sufferer’s genes
what are weaknesses of using drug treatment for depression? (3)
- drug treatments can have severe side effects e.g. suicidal thoughts
- a large number of patients do not respond to drug treatment
- don’t fix the root cause of depression- unlike CBT
