Chapter 2 - Integrative Approach to Psychopathology

Question 1

Multi-dimensional Integrative Approach

Answer 1

Biological Dimensions - Casual factors from the fields of genetics and neuroscience

Psychological Dimensions - causal factors from behavioral and cognitive processes, including learned helplessness, social learning, prepared learning,, and unconsciousness processes.

Emotional Influences - contribute in various ways to psychopathology, as do social and interpersonal influences.

Developmental Influences - figure in any discussion of causes of psychological disorders

Question 2

Genes

Answer 2

Long molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) at various locations on chromosomes within the cell nucleus are inherited from your parents and your ancestors.

Question 3

Nature of Genes

Answer 3

An average human cell has 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs.

Question 4

Development of the brain and body

Answer 4

The first 22 pairs of chromosomes

Question 5

Sex Chromosome

Answer 5

The last pair of chromosomes determines an individual’s sex.

Question 6

X Chromosomes

Answer 6

The last pair of chromosomes are both X chromosomes for females.

Question 7

Y Chromosomes

Answer 7

The last pair of chromosomes have a Y chromosome from the mother and an X chromosome from the father for males.

Question 8

Dominant Gene

Answer 8

One pair of genes that strongly influences a particular trait

[We only need one to determine eye or hair color.]

Question 9

Recessive Gene

Answer 9

It must be paired with another (recessive) gene to determine a trait.

Question 10

Polygenic

Answer 10

Most of our behavior, our personality, and even our intelligence are influenced by many genes, each contributing only a tiny effect, all of which, in turn, may be influenced by the environment

The same is true for psychiatric disorders

Question 11

Quantitative Genetics

Answer 11

Basically, it sums up all the tiny effects across many genes without necessarily telling us which genes are responsible for which effects.

Question 12

Molecular Genetics

Answer 12

It focuses on examining the actual structure of genes with increasingly advanced technologies such as DNA microarrays.

Question 13

DNA microarrays

Answer 13

Technologies that allow scientists to analyze thousands of genes all at once and identify broad networks of genes that may be contributing to a particular trait.

Question 14

Gene studies in rat pups

Answer 14

The absence of normal maternal behavior of “licking and grooming” prevents the genetic expression of a glucocorticoid receptor that modulates stress hormones. This means that rats with inadequate maternal care are more sensitive to stress.

Question 15

The Interaction of Genes and the Environment

Answer 15

Eric Kandel suggested that the very genetic. Cell structure may change due to learning if genes that were inactive or dormant interact with the environment in such a way that they become active.
(In other words, the environment may occasionally turn certain genes)

This type of mechanism may lead to changes in the number of receptors at the end of a neuron, which in turn, would affect biochemical functioning in the brain.

Question 16

Diathesis-Stress Model

Answer 16

Individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviors, which may be activated under stress conditions.

Each inherited tendency is a diathesis, which means, literally, a condition that makes someone susceptible to developing a disorder.

Question 17

Vulnerability

Answer 17

The tendency of the diathesis that is inherited mixed with such a life event or type of stressor.

Diathesis is genetically based and the stress is environmentally based but they must interact together to produce a disorder

Question 18

Two versions of a particular gene were studied for depression.

Answer 18

Allele: the long allele (LL) and the short allele (SS)

Question 19

Long Allele (LL)

Answer 19

With at least two copies of the long allele (LL), animals were able to cope better with stress than individuals with two copies of the short allele (SS)

Recorded stressful life events show in people with two S alleles, the risk for having major depression doubled if they had at least four stressful events, compared to participants experiencing four stressful events who had two L alleles.

Question 20

Gene-environment correlation model
or
Reciprocal gene-environment model

Answer 20

Some people might have a genetically determined tendency to create the environmental risk factors that trigger a genetic vulnerability.

Example: Someone may tend to seek out difficult relationships or other circumstances that lead to depression.

Question 21

Epigenetics

Answer 21

Genes may be turned on or off by cellular material that is located just outside of the genome and stress, nutrition, or other factors can affect this epigenome, which is then immediately passed down to the next generation and maybe for several generations.

Question 22

Human Nervous System

Answer 22

1. Central Nervous System - consisting of the brain and spinal cord
2. Peripheral Nervous System - consisting of the somatic nervous system and the automatic nervous system

Question 23

Neurons

Answer 23

Transmit information throughout the nervous system.

On average the brain uses 140 billion neurons to control our thoughts and actions.

Question 24

Typical neuron

Answer 24

It contains a central cell body with two branches: dendrites and axons.

a.) Dendrites have numerous receptors that receive messages in the form of chemical impulses from other nerve cells, which are converted into electrical impulses

b.) Axon transmits these impulses to other neurons through connections called synapses.

Question 25

Action Potential

Answer 25

Information that is transmitted through electrical impulses within each neuron along the axon.

Question 26

Terminal Button

Answer 26

The end of an axon

Question 27

Synaptic Cleft

Answer 27

The space between the terminal button of one neuron and the dendrite of another

Question 28

Neurotransmitter

Answer 28

Biochemicals (chemicals stored in the vesicles of the terminal buttons) that are released from the axons of one neuron and transmit the impulse to the dendrite receptors of another neuron (Excess or insufficiencies in some neurotransmitters are associated with different groups of psychological disorders)

Question 29

Major neurotransmitters relevant to psychopathology

Answer 29

* Norepinephrine (aka Noradrenaline) * Serotonin * Dopamine * Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) * Glutamate

Question 30

Excitatory Neurotransmitters

Answer 30

They increase the likelihood that the connecting neurons will fire. * Research showed increased levels of dopamine activity linked to schizophrenia * Research found correlations between depression and higher levels of norepinephrine

Question 31

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

Answer 31

They decrease the likelihood that the connecting neurons will fire. * Research found reduced levels of GABA associated with excessive anxiety * Research found correlations between depression and low levels of serotonin.

Question 32

Overview of the brain in two parts

Answer 32

1. Brain stem - a lower and more ancient part of the brain handling essential functions like breathing, sleeping, and moving in a coordinated way, containing the hindbrain, midbrain, thalamus, and hypothalamus. 2. Forebrain - The largest part of the forebrain is the cerebral cortex, which allows us to look to the future and plan, reason, and create. Contains the Limbic system with the hippocampus (sea horse), cingulate gyrus (girdle), septum (partition), amygdala (almond), basal ganglia, and caudate (tailed) nucleus.

Question 33

Hindbrain

Answer 33

Regulates many automatic activities like breathing, heart pumping (heartbeat), and digestion. It contains the medulla, pons, and cerebellum. *Cerebellum - controls motor coordination, and recent research suggests that abnormalities in the cerebellum may be associated with autism, although the connection with motor coordination is unclear.

Question 34

Midbrain

Answer 34

Coordinates movement with sensory input and contains parts of the reticular activating system, which contributes to processes of arousal and tension, such as whether we are awake or asleep.

Question 35

Thalamus and Hypothalamus

Answer 35

Involved broadly with regulating behavior and emotion Primarily functions as a relay between the forebrain and the remaining lower areas of the brain stem.

Question 36

Limbic system

Answer 36

Regulate our emotional experiences and expressions and, to some extent, our ability to learn and to control our impulses. (also involved with the basic drives of sex, aggression, hunger, and thirst) Limbic means border, so named because it is located around the edge of the brain's center.

Question 37

Basal Ganglia and the Caudate (tailed) nucleus

Answer 37

Because damage to these structures is involved in changing our posture or twitching or shaking, they are believed to control motor activity.

Question 38

Cerebral cortex division

Answer 38

Two hemispheres: a.) Right hemisphere b.) Left hemisphere The hemispheres may look alike structurally and operate relatively independently (both are capable of perceiving, thinking, and remembering) however, recent research indicates that each has different specialties.

Question 39

Left Hemisphere

Answer 39

Chiefly responsible for verbal and other cognitive processes.

Question 40

Right Hemisphere

Answer 40

Seems to be better at perceiving the world around us and creating images.

Question 41

Each hemisphere is divided into four separate areas.

Answer 41

1. Temporal Lobe- Associated with recognizing various sights and sounds and with long-term memory storage. 2.) Parietal Lobe - Associated with recognizing various sensations of touch and monitoring body positioning 3. Occipital Lobe - Associated with integrating and making sense of various visual inputs 3. Frontal Lobe - Most interesting from the point of view of psychopathology. The frontal (or anterior) of the frontal lobe is called the prefrontal cortex and is the area responsible for higher cognitive functions like thinking and reasoning, planning for the future, and long-term memory. This area of the brain synthesizes all information received from other parts of the brain and decides how to respond.

Question 42

Peripheral Nervous System

Answer 42

Coordinates the brain stem to make sure the body is working properly. Two major components: 1. Somatic Nervous System 2. Automatic Nervous System

Question 43

Somatic Nervous System

Answer 43

Controls the muscles, so damage in this area might make it difficult for us to engage in any voluntary movement, including talking.

Question 44

Automatic Nervous System

Answer 44

The primary duties of this system are to regulate the cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) and the endocrine system (pituitary gland, adrenal, thyroid, and gonadal glands) and to perform various other functions, including aiding digestion and regulating body temperature. Includes: a.) Sympathetic Nervous System b.) Parasympathetic Nervous System

Question 45

Endocrine System

Answer 45

It is closely related to the immune system and is also implicated in a variety of disorders. Contributes to stress-related physical disorders and endocrine regulation may also play a role in depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Each endocrine gland produces its own chemical messenger, called a hormone, and releases it directly into the bloodstream. Adrenal glands produce epinephrine (also called adrenaline) in response to stress as well as salt-regulating hormones; the thyroid gland produces thyroxine, which facilitates energy metabolism and growth; the pituitary is a master gland that produces a variety of regulatory hormones, and the gonadal glands produce sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. An interdisciplinary area of research is termed psychoneuroendocrinology.

Question 46

Sympathetic Nervous System

Answer 46

Responsible for mobilizing the body during times of stress or danger by rapidly activating the organs or glands under its control. Three things happen the sympathetic division went on alert: 1. Heart beats faster, thereby increasing the flow of blood to the muscles 2. Respiration increases, allowing more oxygen to get into the blood and brain 3. Adrenal glands are stimulated

Question 47

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Answer 47

One of the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system is to balance the sympathetic system. The system takes over after the sympathetic nervous system has been active for a while, normalizing our arousal and facilitating energy storage by helping the digestive process.

Question 48

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA axis)

Answer 48

1. The hypothalamus is connected to the adjacent pituitary gland, which is the master or coordinator of the endocrine system. 2. The pituitary, in turn, may stimulate the cortical part of the adrenal glands on top of the kidneys. * Epinephrine Surges tend to energize, arouse, and prepare our bodies for threats or challenges. (When athletes say their adrenaline was really flowing, they mean they were highly aroused and up for the competition) * The cortical part of the adrenal glands also produces the stress hormone cortisol. ***Good evidence that dysregulation of the HPA axis is linked to depression***

Question 49

Telomeres

Answer 49

Certain structures that cap the ends of chromosomes to protect the chromosome from deteriorating or getting entangled with neighboring chromosomes. *** A recent study by Gotlib and colleagues suggests that telomere appears to moderate the effect of depression and cortisol. ***

Question 50

Neurotransmitters

Answer 50

Carry messages from one neuron to another [Narrow currents flowing through the ocean of the brain. Sometimes they run parallel with other currents, only to separate again. Often, they seem to meander aimlessly, looping back on themselves before moving on. Neurons that are sensitive to one type of neurotransmitter cluster together and form paths from one part of the brain to the other] ***Estimate suggest that more than 100 different neurotransmitters, each with multiple receptors, are functioning in various parts of the nervous system***

Question 51

Brain Circuits

Answer 51

Paths that may overlap with the paths of other neurotransmitters but somehow end up going their separate ways. [There are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of these brain circuits]

Question 52

Agonists

Answer 52

A substance that effectively increases the activity of a neurotransmitter by mimicking its effects.

Question 53

Antagonists

Answer 53

Substances that decrease or block, a neurotransmitter

Question 54

Inverse Agonists

Answer 54

Substances that produce effects opposite to those produced by the neurotransmitter

Question 55

Reuptake

Answer 55

Some drugs that do not affect neurotransmitters directly but prevent the chemical from reaching the next neuron by closing down or occupying the receptors in that neuron. After the neurotransmitter is released, it is quickly broken down and brought from the synaptic cleft into the same neuron that released it.

Question 56

Two types of neurotransmitters are most relevant to psychopathology.

Answer 56

a.) Monoamines: norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline), serotonin, and dopamine. b.) Amino-acids: gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate [Referred to as "Chemical Brothers" because they work in concert to balance functioning in the brain.] These are considered "classic" neurotransmitters because they are synthesized in the nerve.

Question 57

Glutamate

Answer 57

An excitatory transmitter that "turns on" many different neurons, leading to action.

Question 58

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Answer 58

An inhibitory transmitter that regulates the transmission of information and action potentials.

Question 59

Effects of MSG in Chinese food

Answer 59

People sensitive to glutamate may experience adverse effects of MSG (monosodium glutamate.) MSG can increase the amount of glutamate in the body causing headaches, ringing in ears, or other physical symptoms in people.

Question 60

Effects of the class of drugs: Benzodiazepines (or minor tranquilizers)

Answer 60

Make it easier for GABA molecules to attach themselves to the receptors of specialized neurons. Thus, the higher the level of benzodiazepines, the more GABA becomes attached to the neuron receptors and the calmer we become (to a point)

Question 61

Serotonin aka 5-Hydroxtryptamine (5HT)

Answer 61

It influences a great deal of our behavior, mainly how we process information. This is because six major serotonin circuits spread from the midbrain, looping around its various parts, which primarily end up in the cortex. ***Low activity levels have been associated with aggression, suicide, impulsive overeating, and excessive sexual behavior*** This may make us more vulnerable to certain problematic behaviors without directly causing them.

Question 62

Norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline)

Answer 62

Stimulates two groups of receptors: a.) alpha-adrenergic b.) beta-adrenergic Circuits in the central nervous system: 1.) Begins in the hindbrain that controls basic bodily functions such as respiration 1. Another appears to influence the emergency reactions or alarm responses.

Question 63

Dopamine

Answer 63

A major transmitter that had been linked to schizophrenia, disorders of addiction, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ***Reserpine (wonder drug for schizophrenia) blocks specific dopamine receptors, thus lowering dopamine activity.***

Question 64

Dopamine and Serotonin Merged and Crossed Circuits

Answer 64

Their circuits merge and cross each other at many points, therefore influencing many of the same behaviors. For example: Dopamine activity is associated with exploratory, outgoing, pleasure-seeking behaviors. Whereas, serotonin is associated with inhibition and constraint, thus, in a sense they balance each other out.

Question 65

Brain Images of Patients with OCD

Answer 65

a.) The size and structures of the brain are the same as those of other people b.) Increased activity in the part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex called the orbital surface, the cingulate gyrus, and, to a lesser extent, in the caudate nucleus, which is a circuit that extends from the orbital section of the frontal area of the cortex to the thalamus.

Question 66

Damage interrupting serotonin circuits

Answer 66

Seem to impair the ability to ignore irrelevant external cues, thus finding ourselves acting on every thought or impulse that enters our heads.

Question 67

Initiating factors

Answer 67

Reasons why a problem developed in the first place

Question 68

Maintaining Factors

Answer 68

Reasons why problems persist (particular experiences from the past that might have initiated the problem)

Question 69

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Practice

Answer 69

Exposure and Response prevention is known to be effective for depression, PTSD, OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and schizophrenia.

Question 70

Placebo

Answer 70

Placebos alone are not usually as effective as active medication, but every time clinicians prescribe pills, they are also treating the patient psychologically by inducing positive expectations for change, and thus intervention changes brain function.

Question 71

Top Down

Answer 71

Changes that originate in the cortex and work their way down into the lower brain. Example: CBT facilitates changes in thinking patterns in the cortex, which, in turn, affects the emotional brain.

Question 72

Bottom Up

Answer 72

Reaching higher areas of the cortex (where thinking occurs) last. Example: Drugs seem to go straight to the lower brain and work their way up to the cortex.

Question 73

Precision Medicine

Answer 73

Tailoring the treatment to the individual patient in order to optimize therapy outcomes

Question 74

Cognitive Science

Answer 74

Concerned with how we acquire and process information and how we store and ultimately retrieve it (one of the processes involved with memory)

Question 75

Learned Helplessness

Answer 75

Occurs when rats or other animals encounter conditions over which they have no control Example: If animals learn that their behavior has no effect on their environment - sometimes they get shocked and sometimes they don't, no matter what they do - they become "helpless": in other words, they don't give up attempting to cope and seem to develop the animal equivalent to depression

Question 76

Attribution

Answer 76

People become depressed if they "decide" or "think" they can do little about the stress in their lives, even if it seems to others that there is something they could do. People make an attribution that they have no control, and they become depressed.

Question 77

Learned optimism

Answer 77

A different set of attributions If people faced with considerable stress and difficulty in their lives nevertheless display an optimistic, upbeat attitude, they are likely to function better psychologically and physically.

Question 78

Positive Psychology

Answer 78

Investigators explore factors that account for positive attitudes and happiness.

Question 79

Modeling or Observational learning

Answer 79

Learning by observing what happens to someone else in a situation

Question 80

Prepared Learning

Answer 80

We have become highly prepared to learn about certain types of objects or situations over the course of evolution because this knowledge contributes to the survival of the species.

Question 81

Implicit memory

Answer 81

It is apparent when someone clearly acts on the basis of things that have happened in the past but can't remember the events.

Question 82

Explicit Memory

Answer 82

A conscious memory of events

Question 83

Black Box

Answer 83

Refers to unobservable feelings and cognition inferred from an individual's self-report or behaviors. Example: Stroop color naming paradigm

Question 84

Fight or Flight Response

Answer 84

The alarm reaction activates during potentially life-threatening emergencies. The whole purpose of 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)

Question 85

Emotion of Fear

Answer 85

A Subjective feeling of terror, a strong motivation for behavior (escaping or fighting), and a complex physiological or arousal response. Emotion is linked to an action tendency, that is, a tendency to behave in a certain way (for example, escape), elicited by an external event (a threat) and a feeling state (terror) and accompanied by a (possibly) characteristic physiological response. ***Usually short-lived, temporary states lasting from several minutes to several hours, occurring in response to an external event.***

Question 86

Mood

Answer 86

More persistent periods of affect or emotionally a.) Mood disorders - enduring or recurring states of depression or excitement (mania)

Question 87

Affect

Answer 87

Often refers to the valance dimensions (pleasant or positive vs. unpleasant or negative) of an emotion. For example: Postive affect is experienced during joy, whereas negative affect is experienced during anger and fear. Together with arousal dimensions (activated of high arousal vs. deactivated and low arousal), any emotional experience can be assigned to a point on this two-dimensional system.

Question 88

Circumplex model of emotions

Answer 88

The two-dimensional system

Question 89

Emotion is composed of three components:

Answer 89

a.) Behavior b.) Physiology c.) Cognition

Question 90

Fright Disorder

Answer 90

Characterized by exaggerrated startle responses and other observable fear and anxiety reactions.

Question 91

Fear

Answer 91

What we fear is strongly influenced by our social environment.

Question 92

Phobia

Answer 92

The likelihood of you having a particular phobia is powerfully influenced by your gender. ***Cultural expectations of men and women and our gender roles***

Question 93

Tend and Befriend

Answer 93

A unique way that females respond to stress in their lives. Refers to protecting themselves and their young through nurturing behavior (tend) and forming alliances with larger social groups, particularly other females (befriend)

Question 94

Social Effects on Health & Behavior

Answer 94

Many studies have demonstrated that the greater the number and frequency of social relationships and contacts, the longer you are likely to live.

Question 95

Social and Interpersonal Influences on the Elderly

Answer 95

The effect of social and interpersonal factors on the expression of psychical and psychological disorders may differ with age.

Question 96

The principle of equifinality

Answer 96

Used in developmental and psychopathology to indicate that we must consider a number of paths to a given outcome.