Chapter 2 An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology Flashcards
Multidimensional integrative approach
- Biological dimensions include causal factors from the fields of genetics and neuroscience
- Psychological dimensions include causal factors from behavioral and cognitive processes, including learned helplessness, social learning, prepared learning, and even unconscious processes
- Emotional influences
- Social and interpersonal influences
- Developmental influences
linear or one-dimensional model
trace the origins of behavior to a single cause
Multidimensional model
- A system, or feedback loop, may have independent inputs at many different points, but as each input becomes part of the whole it can no longer be considered independent
- Causality is systemic
- Any particular influence contributing to psychopathology cannot be considered out of context
- Context: biology and behavior of the individual, as well as the cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural environment because any one component of the system inevitably affects the other components.
Genes
- long molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) at various locations on chromosomes, within the cell nucleus.
- Gregor Mendel in the 19th century
- Physical characteristics are determined- or at least strongly influenced- by our genetic endowment.
- Other factors in the environment influence our physical appearance
- Are affected by nutritional, social, and cultural factors
- Our genes seldom determine our physical development in any absolute way.
- Provide some boundaries to our development
- Exactly where we go within these boundaries depends on environmental influences
Hungtington’s disease
- degenerative brain disease that appears in early to middle age, usually the early 40s.
- A genetic defect that causes deterioration in specific area of the brain, basal ganglia.
- Broad changes in personality, cognitive functioning, and, particularly, motor behavior.
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
- Intellectual disability
- Present at birth, is caused by the inability of the body to metabolize (break down) phenylalanine, a chemical compound found in many foods.
- Is caused by a defect in a single gene, with little contribution from other genes or the environmental background
- Is inherited when both parents are carriers of the gene and pass it on to the child
- Researchers have discovered a way to correct this disorder
- By detecting PKU early enough
- Restrict the amount of phenylalanine in the baby’s diet until the child develops to the point where a normal diet does not harm the brain, usually 6 to 7 years of age
Dominant gene
one of a pair of genes that strongly influences a particular trait, and we need only one of them to determine.
Recessive gene
must be paired with another (recessive) gene to determine a trait
Gene dominance occurs when one member of a gene pair is consistently expressed over the other.
Genome
an individual’s complete set of genes- consists of more than 20,000 genes, polygenic interactions can be quite complex
Quantitative genetics
basically sums up all the tiny effects across many genes without necessarily telling us which genes are responsible for which effects
Molecular genetics
focuses on examining the actual structure of genes with increasingly advanced technologies such as DNA micro-arrays- allow scientists to analyze thousands of genes at once and identify broad networks of genes that may be contributing to a particular trait
Diathesis-stress model
- individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviors -> may then be activated under conditions of stress
- Each inherited tendency is a diathesis: a condition that makes someone susceptible to developing a disorder
- When the right kind of life event comes along, the disorder develops
- Vulnerability
- The diathesis is genetically based and the stress is environmental but they must interact to roduce a disorder
- Having a particular vulnerability doesn’t mean you will develop the associated disorder.
- The smaller the vulnerability, the greater the life stress required to produce athe disorder; conversely, with greater vulnerability, less life stress is required.
Vulnerability
tendency is the diathesis; it would become prominent until certain environmental events occurred
Gene-environment correlation model/reciprocal gene-environment model
applies to the development of depression, because some people may tend to seek out difficult relationships or other circumstances that lead to depression
Cross-fostering
a rat pup born to one mother is assigned to another mother for rearing
Epigenetics
- Genes are turned on or off by by cellular material that is located just outside of the genome
- That stress, nutrition, or other factors can affect this epigenome -> immediately passed down to the next generation and maybe for several generations
- The genome itself isn’t changed, so if the stressful or inadequate environment disappears, eventually the epigenome will fade
- Constraining environmental influences have implications for preventing unwanted personality traits or temperaments and even psychological disorders
- Environmental manipulations, particularly early in life, may do much to override the genetically influenced tendency to develop undesirable behavioral and emotional reactions
Neuroscience
- how the nervous system, how the brain works is central to any understanding of our behavior, emotions, and cognitive processes.
- Central nervous system- brain and spinal cord
- Peripheral nervous system- somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system
Neurons
- nerve cells
- The brain uses an average of 140 billion nerve cells
- Control every thought and action
- Transmit information throughout the nervous system
- The typical neuron contains a central cell body with two kinds of branches
- Dendrite
- Axon
Dendrite
have numerous receptors that receive messages in the form of chemical impulses from other nerve cells, which are converted into electrical impulses
Axon
- transmits these impulses to other neurons
- Any one nerve cell may have multiple connections to other neurons
Synaptic cleft
- the impulse must pass to get to the next neuron
- The space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite
Neurotransmitters
- the biochemicals that are released from the axon of one neuron and transmit the impulse to the dendrite receptors of another neuron
- Norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
- Serotonin
- Dopamine
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- Glutamate
- Excesses or insufficiencies in some neurotransmitters are associated with different groups of psychological disorders
- Reduced levels or insufficiencies in some neurotransmitters -> different groups of psychological disorders
- Reduced levels of GABA -> excessive anxiety
- Increases in dopamine activity -> schizophrenia
- High levels of norepinephrine and low levels of serotonin -> depression
Glia (glial) cells
- another type of cell that comprises the nervous system
- Outnumber neurons by a ratio of about 10 to 1
- There are different types of glia cells with several specific functions
- Modulate neurotransmitter activity
Brain stem
- lower and more ancient part of the brain
- Found in most animals
- Handles most of the essential automatic functions
- Moving around in a coordinated way
- Hindbrain
- Midbrain
- Thalamus and hypothalamus
Hindbrain
- lowest part of the brain stem
- Medulla, pons, cerebellum
- Regulates many automatic activities
- Cerebellum: controls motor coordination and psychological disorder autism
Midbrain
- coordinates movement with sensory input and contains parts of the reticular activating system
- Contributes to processes of arousal and tension
Thalamus and hypothalamus
- at the top of the brain stem
- Regulating behavior and emotion
- Function primarily as a relay between the forebrain and the remaining lower areas of the brain stem
Forebrain
more advanced and evolved more recently
Limbic system
- at the base of the forebrain
- Just above the thalamus and hypothalamus
- Located around the edge of the center of the brain
- Hippocampus (seahorse), cingulate gyrus (girdle), septum (partition), and amygdala (almond)
- Helps regulate our emotional experiences and expressions
- Our ability to learn and to control our impulses
- The basic drives of sex, aggression, hunger, and thirst
Basal ganglia
- at the base of the forebrain, include the caudate (tailed) nucleus
- Damage -> make us change our posture or twitch or shakes
- Control motor activity
Cerebral cortex
- the largest part of the forebrain
- Contains more than 80% of all neurons in the central nervous system
- Provides us with our distinctly human qualities, allowing us to look to the future and plan, to reason, and to create
- Is divided into two hemispheres- both are capable of perceiving, thinking and remembering
Temporal lobe
recognizing various sights and sounds and with long-term memory storage
Parietal lobe
recognizing various sensations of touch and monitoring body positioning
Occipital lobe
integrating and making sense of various visual inputs
Prefrontal cortex
- the front (or anterior) of the frontal lobe
- High cognitive functions
- Long-term memory
- Synthesizes all information received from other parts of the brain and decides how to respond
- Enables us to relate to the world around us and the people in it- to behave as social animals
The Peripheral Nervous System
Coordinates with the brain stem to make sure the body is working properly
Somatic nervous system
- Controls the muscles
2. Voluntary movement
Autonomic nervous system
- Regulate the cardiovascular system and the endocrine system and to perform various other functions, including aiding digestion and regulating body temperature
Endocrine system
- each endocrine gland produces its own chemical messenger- hormone -> releases it directly into the bloodstream
- Adrenal glands- epinephrine (adrenaline) to stress, salt-regulating hormones
- Thyroid gland- thyroxine to facilitates energy metabolism and growth
- Pituitary is a master gland that produces a variety of regulatory hormones
- Gonadal glands produce sex hormones
- Is closely related to the immune system
- Is also implicated in a variety of disorders
- Contributing to stress-related physical disorders
- Endocrine regulation- depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and other disorders
Psychoneuroendocrinology
- depressed patients may respond better to an antidepressant medication if it is administered in combinatin with a thyroid hormone or for some older depressed men coadministration of testosterone may enhance antideppresant effects
Sympathetic nervous system
- Mobilizing the body during times of stress or danger by rapidly activating the organs and glands under its control
- The heart beats faster -> increasing the flow of blood to the muscles -> respiration increases- allowing more oxygen to get into blood and brain -> adrenal glands are stimulated = all three changes help mobilize us for action
- Mediates a substantial part of our “emergency” or “alarm” reaction
Parasympathetic system
- Balance the sympathetic system
- Because we could not operate in a state of hyperarousal and preparedness forever, the parasympathetic nervous system has been active for a while, normalizing our arousal and facilitating the storage of energy by helping the digestive process.
Agonists
effectively increase the activity of a neurotransmitter by mimicking its effects
Antagonists
decrease, or block, a neurotransmitter
Inverse agonists
produce effects opposite to those produced by the neurotransmitter
Reuptake
After a neurotransmitter is released, it is quickly drawn back from the synaptic cleft into the same neuron
Glutamate
excitatory transmitter that “turns on” many different neurons, leading to action.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- an inhibitory neurotransmitter
- Inhibit/regulate the transmission of information and action potentials
- Reduces postsynaptic activity
- Inhibits a variety of behaviors and emotions
- Was discovered before glutamate
- Reduce anxiety
- The benzodiazepines or minor tranquilizers makes it easier for GABA
- Rides on many circuits distributed widely throughout the brain
- Reduce overall arousal somewhat and to temper our emotional responses
- Minor tranquilizers have an anticonvulsant effect
- Relaxing muscle groups that may be subject to spasms - Drugs increase GABA -> under evaluation as treatments for insomnia
- Reduce levels of anger, hostility, aggression, and perhaps even positive emotional states such as eager anticipation and pleasure
- GABA system is composed of a number of subsystems
Serotonin
- 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT)
- Monoamine category of neurotransmitters
- Six major circuits of serotonin spread from the midbrain, looping around its various parts
- Many of them ending up in the cortex
- Influence a great deal of our behavior, particularly the way we process information
- Was genetically influenced dysregulation in this system that contributed to depression
- Regulates our behavior, moods, and thought processes
- Extremely low activity levels of serotonin -> less inhibition and with instability, impulsivity and the tendency to overreact to situations
- Low serotonin activity -> aggression, suicide, impulsive overating, and excessive sexual behavior
- Other currents in the brain, or other psychological or social influences, may well compensate for low serotonin activity
- Low serotonin activity may make us more vulnerable to certain problematic behavior without directly causing it
- High levels of serotonin may interact with GABA to counteract glutamate
- Has slightly different effects depending on the type or subtype of receptors
- 15 different receptors
- Classes of drugs primarily affect the serotonin system
- Tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine
- Selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)- fluoxetine (Prozac) affects serotonin more directly than other drugs
- -Treat a number of psychological disorders, particularly anxiety, mood, and eating disorders
- Herbal medication St. John’s wort affects serotonin levels
Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline)
- Like epinephrine (catecholamine)
- Part of the endocrine system
- Stimulate at least two groups of receptors called alpha-adrenergic and beta-adrenergic receptors
- Beta-blockers: class of drugs for people has hypertension or difficulties with regulating heart rate
- Block the beta-receptors so that their response to a surge of norepinephrine is reduced, which keeps blood pressure and heart rate down - A number of norepinephrine circuits
- One major circuit begins the hindbrain -> controls basic bodily functions
- Another circuit appears to influence the emergency reactions or alarm responses - May bear some relationship to states of panic
- Acts in a more general way to regulate or modulate certain behavioral tendencies
- Is not directly involved in specific patterns of behavior or in psychological disorders
Dopamine
- Catecholamine
- The similarity of its chemical structure to epinephrine and norepinephrine
- Has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and disorders of addiction
- Depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Drug reserpine
- Block specific dopamine receptors -> lowering dopamine activity
- In schizophrenia dopamine circuits may be too active - The recent development of second-generation antipsychotic drugs such as clozapine, which has only weak effects on certain dopamine receptors, suggests this idea may need revising
- In its various circuits throughout specific regions of the brain, dopamine also seems to have a more general effect
- A switch that turns on various brain circuits possibly associated with certain types of behavior
- Once the switch is turned on, other neurotransmitters may then inhibit or facilitate emotions or behavior - Merge and cross with serotonin circuits at many points and therefore influence many of the same behaviors
- Dopamine: exploratory, outgoing, pleasure-seeking behaviors
- Serotonin: inhibition and constraint
- They balance each other - At least five different receptor sites that are selectively sensitive to dopamine
- One of a class of drugs that affects the dopamine circuits= L-dopa
- Dopamine agonist- increases levels of dopamine - One of the systems that dopamine switches on is the locomotor system
- Regulates ability to move in a coordinated way
- Is influenced by serotonin activity - Deficiencies in dopamine -> Parkinson’s disease
- Deterioration in motor behavior - L-dopa- reducing some of these motor disabilities
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Severe anxiety-based disorder
- Intrusive, frightening thoughts
- Compulsive rituals
- Intriguing differences between the brains of patients of patients with OCD and the brains of -Patients with OCD have increased activity in the part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex called the orbital surface
- Increased activity in cingulate gyrus -> caudate nucleus, a circuit that extends from the orbital section of the frontal area of the cortex to parts of the thalamus
- If one area is active, the other areas are also.
- These areas contain several pathways of neurotransmitters, and one of the most concentrated is serotonin.
- Leisons (damage) that interrupt serotonin circuits seem to impair the ability to ignore irrelevant external cues, making the organism overactive.
- Acting on every thought or impulse that enters our heads - Brain-imaging studies are often inconsistent with one another on many important details.
- Sometimes pinpointing the increased or decreased activity is difficult because brains differ in their structure
- The orbital frontal cortex is implicated in other anxiety disorders in this area of the brain may just increase negative affect more generally rather than OCD specifically.
- It is possible that activity in this area may simply be a result of the repetitive thinking and ritualistic behavior that characteristics OCD, rather than a cause.
Cognitive science
- is concerned with how we acquire and process information and how we store and ultimately retrieve it (one of the processes involved in memory)
- Technically, these cognitive processes are unconscious - Field of study that examines how humans and other animals acquire, process, store, and retrieve information
Modeling/Observational learning
learn just as much by observing what happens to someone else in a given situation
Prepared learning
- we have become highly prepared for learning about certain types of objects or situations over the course of evolution because this knowledge contributes to the survival of the species
- A sex difference
- “Prepared learning” may account for the greater incidence of snake and spider phobias in adult women
- It would have been more important for women, in their roles as foragers and gatherers, to develop a tendency to avoid snakes and spiders than males, in their primary roles as risk-taking hunters
- Survival is associated with quickly learning to avoid poisonous food
Blind sight/unconscious vision
normal individuals, provided with hypnotic suggestions that they are blind, are able to function visually but have no awareness or memory of their visual abilities
Implicit memory
is apparent when someone clearly acts on the basis of things that have happened in the past but can’t remember the events
Explicit memory
good memory for events
Black box
unobservable feelings and cognitions inferred from an individual’s self-report
Stroop color-naming paradigm
- Participants are shown a variety of words, each printed in a different color
- Asked to name the colors
- The meaning of the word interferes with the participant’s ability to process color information
- People with certain psychological disorders are much slower at naming the colors of words associated with their problem
Flight or fight response
- Charles Darwin- the first great emotion theorist
- To be programmed in all animals
- The alarm reaction that activates during potentially life-threatening emergencies
- The physical rush of adrenaline that we feel in extreme danger is to mobilize us to escape the danger (flight) or to fend it off (fight)
Emotion
- a subjective feeling of terror, a strong motivation for behavior (escaping or fighting), and a complex physiological or arousal response
- Action tendency
- Tendency to behave in a certain way, elicited by an external event (threat) and a feeling state (terror) and accompanied by a (possibly) characteristic physiological response
- Motivate us to carry out a behavior
- Decreasing unpleasant feelings motivates us to escape
- Short-lived, temporary states lasting from several minutes to several hours, occurring in response to an external event.
Mood
- more persistent period of affect or emotionality
- Enduring or recurring states of depression or excitement (mania) as mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders: enduring or chronic anxiety- mood disorders
- Emotional disorders
Affect
- momentary emotional tone that accompanies what we say or do
- Summarize commonalities among emotional states characteristic of an individual
- Negative: fearful, anxious, and depressed
- Positive: pleasant, joyful, excited
Panic attack
Normal emotion of fear occurring at the wrong time, when there is nothing to be afraid of
Bipolar disorder
- Mania: become overly excited and joyful
- Think they have the world on a string
- Can do anything they want and spend as much money as they want because everything will turn out all right
- Every little event is the most wonderful and exciting experience they have ever had. - Alternate periods of excitement with periods of extreme sadness and distress, when they feel that all is lost and the world is a gloomy and hopeless place.
- Depression: during extreme sadness or distress, people are unable to experience any pleasure in life and often find it difficult even to get out of bed and move around.
- If hopelessness becomes acute, they are at risk for suicide.
- A defining feature of many mood disorders
Bulimia nervosa
- the severe eating disorder, occurs almost entirely in young females
- Cultural emphasis on female thinness
Equifinality
- a particular behavior or disorder may have a number of causes
- We must consider a number of paths to a given outcome
Learned Helplessness Theory of Depression
- Martin Seligman’s theory that people become anxious and depressed when they make an attribution that they have no control over the stress in their lives (whether or not they actually have control)
Learned Optimism
if people are faced with considerable stress and difficulties in their lives nevertheless display an optimistic, upbeat attitude, they are likely to function better psychologically and physically.
Fright Disorders
exaggerated startle responses, and other observable fear and anxiety reactions.
Susto
A latin American fright disorder which describes various anxiety-based symptoms, including insomnia, irritability, phobias, and the marked somatic symptoms of sweating and increased heart rate. The cause is the individual believes that he or she has become the object of black magic, or witchcraft
Tend and Befriend
a way women respond to stress by protecting themselves and their young through nurturing behavior (tend) and forming alliances with larger social groups, particularly other women (befriend)
its most likely influence or influences: behavioral, biological, emotional, social, and developmental “The fact that some phobias are more common than others (such as fear of heights and snakes) and may have contributed to the survival of the species in the past suggests that phobias may be genetically prewired. This is evidence for which influence?”
Biological
its most likely influence or influences: behavioral, biological, emotional, social, and developmental. “Jan’s Husband, Jinx, was an unemployed jerk who spent his life chasing women other than his wife. Jan, happily divorced for years, cannot understand why the smell of Jinx’s brand of aftershave causes her to become nauseated. Which influence best explains her response?”
Behavioral or Emotional
its most likely influence or influences: behavioral, biological, emotional, social, and developmental. “Nathan, age 16, finds it more difficult than his 7-year-old sister to adjust to his parents’ recent separation. This may be explained by what influences?”
Developmental
its most likely influence or influences: behavioral, biological, emotional, social, and developmental “A traumatic ride on a Ferris wheel at a young age was most likely to have been the initial cause of Juanita’s fear of heights. Her strong emotional reaction to heights is likely to maintain or even increase her fear. The initial development of the phobia is likely a result of ______ influences; however, _____ influences are likely perpetuating the phobia”
Behavioral (initial) and Emotional (maintenance)
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “Movement, breathing, and sleeping depend on the ancient part of the brain, which is present in most animals”
Brain Stem
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “Which neurotransmitter binds to neuron receptor sites, inhibiting postsynaptic activity and reducing overall arousal?”
GABA
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “Which neurotransmitter is a switch that turns on various brain circuits?”
Dopamine
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “Which neurotransmitter seems to be involved in our emergency reactions or alarm responses?”
Norepinephrine
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “This area contains part of the reticular activating system and coordinates movement with sensory output.”
Midbrain
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “Which neurotransmitter is believed to influence the way we process information, as well as to moderate or inhibit our behavior?”
Serotonin
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “More than 80% of the neurons in the human central nervous are contained in this part of the brain, which gives us distinct qualities.”
Cerebral Cortex
Match each of the following with its description below: frontal lobe, brain stem, GABA, midbrain, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cerebral cortex. “This area is responsible for most of our memory, thinking, and reasoning capabilities and makes us social animals.”
Brain Stem
Check your understanding of behavioral and cognitive influences by identifying the descriptions. Choose your answers from: Learned Helplessness, modeling, prepared learning, and implicit memory “Karen noticed that every time Tyrone behaved well at lunch, the teacher praised him. Karen decided to behave better to receive praise herself.”
Modeling
Check your understanding of behavioral and cognitive influences by identifying the descriptions. Choose your answers from: Learned Helplessness, modeling, prepared learning, and implicit memory. “Josh stopped trying to please his father because he never knew whether his father would be proud or outraged.”
Learned Helplessness
Check your understanding of behavioral and cognitive influences by identifying the descriptions. Choose your answers from: Learned Helplessness, modeling, prepared learning, and implicit memory. “Greg 3. Greg fell into a lake as a baby and almost drowned. Even though Greg has no recollection of the event, he hates to be around large bodies of water.”
Implicit memory
Check your understanding of behavioral and cognitive influences by identifying the descriptions. Choose your answers from: Learned Helplessness, modeling, prepared learning, and implicit memory. “Juanita was scared to death of the tarantula, even though she knew it wasn’t likely to hurt her.”
Prepared Learning
What we _____ is strongly influenced by our social environments.
Fear
The likelihood of your having a particular phobia is powerfully influenced by your ____.
Gender
A large number of studies have demonstrated that the greater the number and frequency of ____ relationships and ____ the longer you are likely to live.
Social, Contacts
The effect of social and interpersonal factors on the expression of physical and psychological disorders may differ with ____
Age
The principle of ____ is used in developmental psychopathology to indicate that we must consider a number of paths to a given outcome
Equifinality
Which approach to psychopathology considers biological, social, behavioral, emotional, cognitive and developmental influences?
Multidimensional
Much of our development and most of our behavior, personality, and IQ are more influenced by many genes, each contributing only a portion of the overall effect. This type of influence is known as:
Polygenic
Behavioral genetics research has concluded that:
Genetic factors that contribute to psychological disorders account for less than half of the explanation
Which portion of the brain is responsible for complex cognitive activities such as reasoning, planning, and creating?
Cerebral Cortex
John is startled by a loud crash in his apartment. His heart immediately starts beating rapidly and the pace of his breathing increases. What part of the nervous system is responsible for this physiological response?
Sympathetic Nervous System
Which neurotransmitter appears to reduce overall arousal and dampen emotional responses?
GABA
Martin Seligman noted that when rats or other animals encounter conditions over which they have no control, they give up attempting to cope and seem to develop the animal equivalent of depression. This is referred to as:
Learned Helplessness
Which concept explains why fears of snakes and heights are more common (or more easily learned) than fears of cats and flowers?
Prepared Learning
Recent research on implicit memory suggests that:
Memories outside our awareness may influence psychopathology, just as Freud speculated
Emotion comprises all of the following components EXCEPT: (Behavior, Genetics, Cognition, Physiology)
Genetics
