Chapter 3 Flashcards
Etiology:
causal pattern of abnormal behavior
etiology must consider…
Must consider the time frame for the different causes of abnormal behavior
genes, environment…
distal risk factors:
occur early in life but don’t show effects for many years
proximal risk factors:
occur shortly before occurrence of symptoms
immediate
reinforcing contributory cause:
condition that reinforces or maintains maladaptive behaviour that is already occurring
Feedback and bidirectionality in abnormal behavior
Many interacting causes; difficult sometimes to determine what is a cause and what is an effect
Diathesis stress models:
describe mental disorders that develop when someone has a preexisting vulnerability for a disorder, experiences a stressor, boom disorder
Diathesis:
vulnerability; predisposition toward developing a disorder. Either bio, psych, or sociocultural causal factors.
Stress:
response of individuals to taxing demands
Protective factors:
decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes among those at risk–social support, resilience
resilience
Ability to successfully adapt to very difficult circumstances
biopsychosocial viewpoint
acknowledges that biological, social, and psychological factors all interact and play a role in psychopathology and treatment
Biological perspective
Mental disorders are disorders of the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and/or the endocrine system that are either inherited or caused by a pathological process
polygenic
(interaction btwn different genes; it’s not the small effect of a single gene)
Behavior genetics
is the field that focuses on studying the heritability of the mental disorders
Vulnerabilities to mental disorders are almost always polygenic
Genes affect behavior indirectly; internal/external environment play a role
Three primary methods:
Three primary methods:Behavior genetics
Family history method Twin method(If both identical twins have it’s concordant as opposed to discordant) Adoption method (See if a child who adopted out had the disorder (see if it’s genetic or environmental))
how to separate genetic and environmental influences:
shared would make the children similar, whether influence occurs in family or environment; nonshared environmental influences are those in which kids in a family differ
Linkage analysis
studies of mental disorders capitalize on several known locations on chromosomes of genes for other inherited physical characteristics or biological processes
Most successful in locating genes for single gene brain disorders
Havent helped us understand more complex disorders
neural plasticity
flexibility of the brain. Existing circuits can be modified, new can be created, with good or detrimental effects.
So environment actually physically biologically changes your brain
That’s how therapy works–our brains change, our thinking changes, in response to talk therapy
Five parts of a neuron:
dendrites (receive signals) soma (cell body keeps cell alive and passes signal to axon) axon (long path for signal) myelin sheath (shield axon)
and axon terminal buttons (which signal through the synapse to the next neuron’s dendrites using neurotransmitters)
All or none law–either it signals or it doesnt but it cant be stopped
Neurons
brain/nerve cells, must communicate thru the transmission of electrical nerve impulses in order for the brain to function adequately
Synapse:
tiny fluid filled space between axon endings of one neuron (presynaptic neurons) and the dendrites of another neuron (postsynaptic neurons)
5 different neurotransmitters have been most extensively studied in psychopathology:
Medication used to treat various disorders are often believed to operate by correcting these imbalances
Dopamine linked to movement and pleasure Norepinephrine linked to stress Serotonin (mood) Glutamate (learning/forming memories) Gamma aminobutyric acid (arousal/anxiety)
Neurotransmitters can have different functions!!!
hormonal
Hormones are chemical messengers secreted by a set of endocrine glands in our bodies
pituitary gland is master gland of body, producing variety of hormones that regulate or control other endocrine glands; pituitary gland stimulates gland to release hormone to stimulate gland to release hormone and the gland monitors the levels of hormones we need
Many hormones associated with psychological function