Biomedical Therapies

Question 1

Psychopharmacotherapy

Answer 1

use of drugs to attempt to manage or reduce clients’ symptoms

Question 2

Psychotropic Drugs

Answer 2

medications designed to alter psychological functioning

- can cross blood brain barrier and target neurotransmitters

Question 3

Antidepressants and Mood Stabilizers:

Answer 3

• Medications designed to elevate mood and reduce other symptoms of depression
• Target areas of brain that are rich with monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine)

Question 4

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

Answer 4

deactivate monoamine oxidase (MAO), an enzyme that breaks down serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine at synaptic clefts of nerve cells

• inhibition of MAO results in more of them available at synapses
• effective at relieving symptoms, but have dangerous effects if mixed with other drugs or food

Question 5

Tricyclic Antidepressants

Answer 5

block reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine

-many negative side effects

Question 6

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs):

Answer 6

• Block reuptake of serotonin
• Effective at alleviating effects of depression, but also has negative side effects
• Increasing serotonin causes brain set to diminish activation which could reduce negative emotions
• Decrease amygdala activity

Question 7

Mood Stabilizers-

Answer 7

drugs used to reduce severity of mood swings experience by people with bipolar disorder

-Lithium is effective, but can be toxic to kidneys

Question 8

Antianxiety Drugs:

Answer 8

• Alleviate nervousness, tension, and prevent panic attacks
• Affect activity of GABA (inhibatory neurotransmitter that reduces neural activity)
• Allow more GABA molecules to inhibit neural activity

Question 9

Antipsychotic Drugs:

Answer 9

• Used to treat symptoms of psychosis, including delusions, hallucinations, and severely disturbed or disorganized though
• Preliminary drugs were designed to block dopamine receptors

Question 10

Tardive Dyskinesia

Answer 10

side effect of preliminary antipsychotic drugs that cause a movement disorder involving involuntary movements and facial tics

Question 11

Atypical Antipsychotics

Answer 11

Second generation antipsychotics that are less likely to produce side effects such as movement disorders

Question 12

Frontal Lobotomy

Answer 12

removal of regions of the cortex

Question 13

Leucotomy

Answer 13

surgical destruction of brain tissues in the prefrontal cortex

Question 14

Focal Lesions

Answer 14

surgical destruction of small areas of brain tissue

-used only in severe cases

Question 15

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)-

Answer 15

passing an electrical current though the brain in order to induce a temporary seizure
-used for extreme cases of depression and bipolar disorder

Question 16

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Answer 16

focal area of brain is exposed to a powerful magnetic field
-stimulating parts of frontal lobes reduces depressive symptoms

Question 17

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

Answer 17

electrically stimulating specific regions of brain produces instant results

-used on extreme cases of depressions