Depression Flashcards
What is unipolar depression
A type of mood disorder causing periods of feeling sad and lacking motivation to do everyday activities
Symptoms of unipolar depression
Lack of motivation
Lack energy even after resting for long time
Lowering of mood
Strengths and weaknesses of genetic explanation of depression
Strengths: If someone inherits a gene which will eventually make him diagnosed with depression, people wont blame you for having depression and be more accepting.
Lots of research supports the idea that people are more prone to depression than others such as Caspi et al (2003) found that people with a variation of the serotonin transporter gene were more likely to react negatively to stressful life events
Weaknesses: Its very deterministic since it assumes that if you have certain genes that are more likely to become depression and have no way to change that
Its reductionist because it fails to take into account other factors that can explain why someone may develop depression
what are some studies that support the idea of genetic explanation of depression
Craig hyde et al. (2016) found that 17 different gene variations were linked to developing depression
Petar McGuffin et al. (1996) found that if one monozygotic twin became depressed, there was a 46 percent chance that their co twin also became depressed. However if a dizyogtic twin became depressed there was only a 20% chance the other twin may develop depression. This suggests that depression might be genetic
Strengths and weaknesses of using cbt to treat depression
Strengths: There is evidence that it is effective such as Mattijs Beltman et al. (2010) found that depressed patients treated with cbt improved more than those who were waiting for treatment and didnt receive. This suggests that it does help to reduce patients symptoms
Longer lasting treatment for depression than only using antidepressants since patients learn how to control their own symptoms
Makes depressed patients feel better since they can deal wth their own emotions
Weaknesses: CBT relies on patients wanting to change their behaviour and recognise their irrational thoughts
Ethical issues such as since the therapist is encouraging the patient to think that their own thought process is the problem and they should think in a different way
Types of antidepressants to treat depression
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) blocks the reuptake of serotonin when it is released from the other neurons. This means that the serotonin is available for longer
Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) have a similar effect to SSRIs but they block the reuptake of both noradrenaline and serotonin which helps improve mood
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) prevent the enzyme monoamine oxidase from doing its job properly. Monoamine oxidase breaks down the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline after they have been released from the neurons. By making it more difficult for the monoamine oxidase to do this and help the neurotransmitters more available, which helps to improve mood
Tricyclics (TCAs) Boosts the effect of serotonin and noradrenaline by preventing the reabsorption of these neurotransmitters to the neuron so their mood-enhancing effect can last longer
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