Lecture 22 & 23 - Mental Health & Law Flashcards
Why is early identification of psychological disorders important?
Early identification can be treated and hence reduce symptoms
What is the gray matter volume equation?
Cortical thickness x area
How is gray matter volume affected in youth with psychosis symptoms?
Decreased gray matter
What network is disrupted in psychosis?
DMN
What are some areas affected by psychosis in youth?
Precuneus, OFC, VMPFC, medial temporal lobe
Why is it hard to diagnose patients off of data?
There’s so much variability (think about her being 6 ft)
What is needed for a successful diagnostic tool?
- sensitive
- specific
Have neuroimaging tools lived up to the criteria for diagnosing psychiatric illness?
No
Where can TMS affect activity?
On surface of cortex or a lil bit deeper
Is TMS excit, inhibit, or either?
Either
Where is TMS applied for depression?
DLPFC
Where is schizo applied for schizophrenia?
Superior temporal regions for auditory hallucinations
Where is TMS applied for OCD?
DLPFC & SMA
Where is TMS applied for smoking cessation?
Prefrontal or insular cortices
When is TMS used for psychiatric treatment?
Treatment resistant patients who havent benefitted from medication and therapy
How does Neurofeedback work?
Self regulation of brain activity by providing feedback of brain activity in real time via EEG or fMRI
What did the neurofeedback for ADHD show?
FMRI neurofeedback allowed boys to increase activation in the rIFG and had reduced symptoms
Follow up study included a sham condition where participants were given the past participants data, the sham also showed symptom improvements
What are some of the challenges of diagnoses?
- hard to find reliable neural markers for psychiatric illnesses
- heterogeneity of diagnoses
- comorbidity and developmental continuity
- categorical vs. dimensional models
What is childhood adversity associated with?
Blunted VTA connectivity development
Major depressive disorder and substance use disorders are highly ____
Comorbid
SUD is associated with ___ in reward neurocircuitry, and MDD associated with ___ in reward neuro circuitry
Hyperactivity & hypoacitvity
How are SUD and MDD related?
Neurobiological changes due to SUD (withdrawal reducing DA levels) may contribute to MDD (substance use may increase activity in brain regions that are hypoactive in MDD), or vice versa
How does early life stress change affect the VTA?
Changes gene expression leading to reduced exploration following adult stress
With more ACES (childhood traumas), how is VTA connection to mPFC affected?
It decreases over the years
Is scizophrenia associated with high or low ACES?
High
What is RDOC?
NIH’s attempt to contextualize psychiatric disorders with neurobio roots
What is HiTOP?
Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology that has different scores for each level that then goes into targeted treatment
What is a “p” factor?
General risk factor
What was found in the Meta-analysis of fMRI and PET studies of cognitive control including patients with many disorders?
Hypoactivation of control network and salience network (external attention to whats important)
Hyperactivation in mPFC thats correlated to pain and social rejection
What are brain disorders that could increase likelihood of crime?
- lesions to OFC
- frontal EEG abnormality following TBI
- low frontal brain activity due to genetics
- prenatal alcohol, tobacco, lead exposure
- social stressors
What is the comparative question method?
Ex. Did you kill a man in Reno
The point is to compare this question to an easier question like “have you ever stolen”
What is the guilty knowledge method?
ex. Did the knife have a wooden handle
The point is to have a bell ring for them and the truth will be reflected in the reaction of the person
What are some physiological reactions to emotional information?
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system
- pupil dilation
- heart rate increase
- sweating
What are some brain areas in deception?
TPJ, IPL, MFG
What are some problems with using fMRI for lie detection?
- group data is not individuals
- fMRI studies are more experimental than anything and often about lies that dont matter
- sensitivity and specificity of fMRI lie detection is not well supported
What are some issues with eyewitness testimony?
- susceptible to misinformation
- susceptible to filling in gaps based on expectations
- gets worse over long periods of time
- worse in individuals with poorer memory, likes kids and older adults
What are some issues with identifying perpetrators in a line up?
- worse if poor vision or viewing conditions or not enough time to view
- worse under stress
- worse if asked to identify perpetrator from a diff racial group
What age group is most likely to commit crimes?
Adolescents
Can neuroimaging be used to confirm intent?
Not enough evidence behind it, a case tried to use it and it was flimsy at best
When does cognitive control reach adult levels?
Around 25 years
What regions of the brain develop faster than prefrontal cortex?
Reward regions
When is the PFC highly plastic?
Adolescence based on resting state BOLD function amplitude as a marker
