L5 - Dopamine Hypothesis/Neural Correlation

Question 1

What is dopamine?

Answer 1

Neurotransmitter responsible for increasing motivation, excitation, and pleasure in high amounts

Question 2

Assumption related to dopamine receptors?

Answer 2

Schizophrenics have more receptors which are over sensitive, increasing levels

Question 3

Research related to D1 and D2 receptors found what?

Answer 3

Schizophrenics have abnormal ratios of dopamine (too much)

Question 4

What is the name of a drug schizophrenics may take and what does it do?

Answer 4

Phenothiazine
Lowers dopamine levels
Reduces +ive symptoms ONLY

Question 5

What does L-dopa do and what disease is usually suffered to take it?

Answer 5

Increases dopamine levels

Parkinson’s disease

Question 6

David and Neale found what about dopamine metabolism?

Answer 6

Schizophrenics’ metabolism is abnormal

Monitored through PET

Question 7

David and Neale found what in post-mortem studies?

Answer 7

Increased dopamine receptors

Increased dopamine in left amygdala

Question 8

Positive evaluation point of DH related to L-dopa?

Answer 8

Researcher gave schizophrenics L-dopa and their symptoms got worse

Question 9

Negative evaluation point of DH related to cause and effect?

Answer 9

May be dopamine which causes schizophrenia

Or schizophrenia develops and then dopamine levels increase

Question 10

Negative evaluation point of DH related

Answer 10

Reductionist as schizophrenia is complex and can’t be broken down so simply
Other factors/causes ignored e.g. neuroanatomy

Question 11

What is neural correlates?

Answer 11

Structural and functional brain abnormalities which corresponds to and are needed to cause schizophrenia

Question 12

What method is used to investigate neural correlates?

Answer 12

fMRI
Given memory/cognitive tasks to see brain acvitity during the task
Compared to normal patients

Question 13

Study by Swayze used how many patients?

Answer 13

50

Question 14

What did Swayze find?

Answer 14

Schizophrenics had
smaller brain weight
smaller hypothalamus
less grey matter
enlarged ventricles filled with water

Question 15

+ of neural correlates related to evidence

Answer 15

Lots of supporting psychological evidence that SZ is caused by neural correlates
Neural correlates changing in brain occurs during pre natal development in the womb

Question 16

• related to significance

Answer 16

Found that extent to which ventricles in SZ are enlarged is insignificant
Not much difference between SZ and normal people
Not a major factor

Question 17

• related to people with mania

Answer 17

Found people with mania also have enlarged ventricles

Therefore cannot be EV alone, may be vulnerability and need a trigger (stress?)