issues in mental health topic 2- the medical model Flashcards

1
Q

background - biochemical explanation of depression

A

-neurotransmitters like serotonin levels can be low which means serotonin molecules may be reabsorbed back into the pre-synaptic nerve cell too soon meaning messages do not get passed effectively across synaptic clefts
-so depression is caused by a lack of serotonin as the body is not responding to the stimulus it receives because there is too little serotonin to transmit these messages
-SSRIs can be used to increase the effect of serotonin by preventing it being taken back up by the pre-synaptic cell

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2
Q

background - biochemical explanation of schizophrenia

A

-schizophrenia could be related to high levels of dopamine within the nervous system causing an overload of dopamine to reach the post-synaptic nerve cells
-anti-psychotic drugs bind to dopamine receptors preventing an overload of dopamine reaching the post-synaptic cell

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3
Q

background: the genetic explanation of mental illness

A

disorders can be passed from parents to children through genetic transference.
Possible for one child to have a tendency and a sibling not to as genes come from half each parent
Gottesman- bipolar/schizophrenia inc if both parents have it.
could use embryo manipulation to reduce inheritance of genetic disorders

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4
Q

evolution theory- Darwin

A

genetic traits are passed on via evolution if they were advantageous to our survival
explains why people are more phobic of spiders as we have evolved the ability to associate certain stimuli with danger and this ability explains phobias to animals that are no longer a threat.
Ohman- showed participants pictures of faces,houses or snakes with a mild electric shock. stress was higher to be conditioned to fear snakes more.

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5
Q

background: brain abnormality as an explanation of mental illness

A

differences in brain structure of people with schizophrenia:
-post-mortem studies of the brains of those with schizophrenia show they were 6% lighter and had enlarged lateral (hollow areas in the brain)
-Weinberger MRI scans on identical twins with one having schizophrenia found differences in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus volume

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6
Q

brain abnormality explanations of depression

A

patients with depression can show a smaller hippocampus volume
people with depression have experienced stress leading to the release of cortisol which can destroy hippocampal cells which can not respond to serotonin normally causing depression
sheline et al - study of elderly women whose depression was in remission the hippocampus was smaller than normal women of the same age

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7
Q

Gottesman et al aim+ sample

A

aimed to investigate in a large sample the probability of a child being diagnosed with a mental disorder if either or both of their parents had it.
sample was 2.7 million people and their parents in denmark aged between 10-52

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8
Q

Gottesman et al procedure

A

identified 4 groups using data from the psychiatric central register:
-2 parents admitted to a psychiatric hospital with diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar or depression
-1 parents admitted same
-neither admitted
-the ‘general public’ (no data available)

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9
Q

Gottesman et al findings

A

-when 2 parents were admitted with the disorder 27.3% had schizophrenia and 24.9% bipolar disorder
- 1.12% of general population had schizophrenia and 0.63% with bipolar disorder
-there seemed to be a genetic overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
-if both parents had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital there was a higher chance of being admitted with any disorder
-at age 52 very few people were recieving fresh diagnosis of schizophrenia whilst fresh diagnosis of bipolar disorder were still being made

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10
Q

gottesman et al conclusions

A

-where both parents had been admitted to psychiatric hospitals with schizophrenia or BD, offspring were super high risk of being admitted with a disorder
-we must not be ingorant of nazis uses during the third reich of so called genetic info to justify eugenics policies
-uses can involve personal decision making in regards to marriage and children

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11
Q

application:
biological treatment of one specific disorder- drug therapy

A

drug therapies aim to restore normal levels or neurotransmitter action
SSRIs work by blocking the reuptake of serontonin by the pre-synaptic neuron with results in more serotonin in the synapse
inc the likelihood of serotonin reaching the post-synaptic receptor sites and triggering an electrical impulse to continue down the neuronal pathway- used to treat depression and anxiety
ECT is where patients have eletrodes on their temples with electric shocks to their brain to trigger an epileptic seizure to jump start the brain and relieve symptoms

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12
Q

evaluation of applications

A

SSRIs- well tolerated and safe in overdose, no withdrawal effects, no dependancy develops
but takes 12 weeks to be effective, can cause sexual problems
ECT- involves several sessions per week, quick fix
risks inc heart problems, confusion, memory loss, physical trauma

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