Lecture 2: Paradigms & Theoretical Perspectives Flashcards
What is a paradigm?
- a set of basic assumptions, a general perspective, that
defines how to: conceptualize and study a subject, gather and interpret relevant data and think about a particular subject - A model of reality: the way reality is or is supposed to be
- A set of basic assumptions that outline the particular universe of scientific inquiry.
- A paradigm is a framework, or perspective, that shapes the way we think about problems in the world (in our case, human behaviour).
What do paradigms help us do?
- Paradigms/theories are conceptual devices that help us
organize information & guide treatment decisions. - Researchers will differ in what they choose to emphasize
and what they choose to ignore as they set out to explain a disorder or, more typically, some facet of a disorder. - Clinicians will often utilize one particular theoretical perspective which will inform their clinical practice.
What are the 5 paradigms in the study of mental disorder?
- biological paradigm
- cognitive behavioural paradigm
- psychoanalytic paradigm
- humanistic paradigm
- Integrative paradigms (Diathesis stress model and biopsychosocial perspective)
What is etiology?
the cause or origin of a disease
What is Biogenic vs. Psychogenic?
- “genic”: a suffix, meaning “formed from”
- Biogenic: formed from (or caused by) biology
- Psychogenic: originating from the mind
What does the term mental disorder imply and why might this implication be problematic?
- The term “mental disorder” unfortunately implies a distinction between “mental disorders” and “physical disorders”
- There can often be a physical component to mental disorders, and there can often be a mental component to physical disorders
What is symptomatology?
the study of, or the treatment of, the symptoms of a disease
What assumption is the basis of the biological paradigm?
Mental disorders caused by aberrant or defective biological processes
What does the biological paradigm focus on?
- Genetic Heritability
- Neurochemical Communication
- Brain Structure
- Focus on interaction between organic functioning (genetics, physiological & neurological systems) and behaviour (normal & abnormal).
- Genes –> Physiology –> Behaviour
What is a genotype?
- Genotype: unobservable genetic constitution
- The total genetic makeup of an individual
- Fixed at birth, but it should not be viewed as a static entity
What is a phenotype?
- Phenotype – totality of observable, behavioural characteristics
- Dynamic (i.e., it changes over time)
- Product of an interaction between genotype and environment
- Various clinical syndromes are disorders of the phenotype, not of the genotype.
What is the family method?
- Can be used to study a genetic predisposition among members of a family b/c the average number of genes shared by two blood relatives is known
- Index cases, or probands: Individuals who bear the diagnosis in question.
What is the twin method?
- Concordance rates
- When the MZ concordance rate is higher than the DZ rate, the characteristic being studied is said to be heritable.
What is the adoptees method?
-Compare adopted children to biological parents (genetic connection) and adoptive parents ( environmental connection)
What are Molecular genetics studies?
- Molecular genetic studies identify which genes are involved in behavioural disorders.
What is linkage analysis (molecular genetic method)
uses genetic markers as a clue in locating genes controlling disorders.
What is a genetic marker?
- a gene for which we know the location and
function. - Genes have a tendency to be passed along in clusters, so if we can find some characteristic that is generally inherited along with the disorder (and if we know the gene location for that characteristic), then we can look at nearby genes to find a gene for the disorder.
What is an example of molecular genetics?
- Frontotemporal dementia: Which is the second most common type of dementia other than Alzheimer’s disease. Profound changes in personality and behaviour, ability to speak becomes compromised, emotionally withdrawn and; blunt or very emotionally disinhibited.
- Mutations in the tau gene (codes for a protein called
tau) on chromosome 17 was found to be linked to FTD But this did not explain all of the inherited cases of FTD - New gene discovered: Mutations in the progranulin gene (also on chromosome 17) also linked to FTD.The mutation knocks out one copy of the progranulin gene – causing the body to produce less progranulin (granulin). Discovery points toward a therapy for dementia – progranulin replacement therapy.
What is epigenetics?
heritable changes in gene activity that are caused by environmental experience
Describe the mouse epigenetics study (method, results) done by Dias & Ressler
- Examined an inherited fear response
- Trained male mice to fear the smell of acetophenone (a
chemical scent comparable to cherries or almonds) by
exposing them to the smell while being given a series of
electric shocks
-The mice eventually gave a fear response (shuddering) to the smell - The mice were then bred, and the offspring were tested with the smell (descendants had no contact with male parent)
- Without any previous exposure to acetophenone, the offspring exhibited increased fear response (compared to
controls with no history of conditioning, and compared to a control group of offspring who were the descendants of mice trained to fear a different smell)
– This effect was also passed along to a third generation of mice
– This effect was also achieved with descendants conceived through in vitro fertilization
– This effect was also achieved using the mother (instead of the father) - These fearful descendants had altered brain structures in
areas that process odours. More neurons for this type of odour in odour-detecting areas. Structures that receive signals from these neurons were also enlarged. - DNA methylation – a process that acts to stop the
transcription of a gene. In the fearful descendants, there was less methylation, and hence these genes were over-expressed.
What is neuroscience? What are the different forms of Neuroscience?
- The study of the brain and the nervous system.
- Forms of neuroscience: Cognitive developmental neuroscience, Molecular neuroscience and Cellular neuroscience
What are the 4 major parts of the neuron?
(1) the cell body
(2) several dendrites
(3) one or more axons of varying lengths
(4) terminal buttons
What is a nerve impulse?
A change in the electric potential of the cell that travels down the axon to the terminal endings
What is a neurotransmitter/synapse?
Chemical substances that allow a nerve impulse to cross the synapse.
What is a mental disorder from a neuroscience perspective?
- Imbalance in levels of one or more neurotransmitters
- Receptors are the issue
How can Abnormal behaviour result from disturbances in
neurotransmitter systems?
- Too much/little of the neurotransmitter produced or released
- Too few/many receptors on the dendrites
- Excess/deficit of the transmitter-deactivating substance in the synapse
- Reuptake process may be too rapid/slow
- In addition, the effects may change depending on the location of the disturbance.
- Research has identified multiple different types of post-synaptic receptor sites for particular neurotransmitters (i.e. at least 5 different dopamine receptor types, and at least 15 different serotonin receptor types)
What are the biological approaches to treatment?
- Prevention or treatment of mental disorders should be possible by altering bodily functioning
- Psychoactive medications
- Deep brain stimulation
what are the two main perspectives within the cognitive behavioural paradigm?
- The Behavioural (Learning) Perspective
- The Cognitive Perspective
What is learning?
Learning is an adaptive process in which the tendency to perform a particular behaviour is changed by experience
What do behavioural theories attempt to do?
- Behavioural theories attempt to relate units of behaviour, called responses, to units of the environment, called stimuli.
- Focusing upon explaining the current behaviour and predicting future behaviour (relating future stimuli to future responses).
What is classical conditioning?
Pavlov’s Dog
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) [meat/food]
- Unconditioned response (UCR) [salivation]
- Conditioned stimulus (CS) [bell]
- Conditioned response (CR) [salivation]
What is extinction?
What happens to the CR when the repeated CS is not followed by UCS - fewer and fewer CRs are elicited and the CR gradually disappears.
