Lecture 3

Question 1

Why is it important to understand depression?

Answer 1

It is one of the most expensive illnesses next to heart disease, diabetes and stroke
Depression is 2nd in the global burden of noncommunicable diseases
Leading risk factor for suicide and NZ has the highest youth suicide rate in the OECD
Girls are twice more likely than boys to experience it
1/a will have experienced it by the ages of 18

Question 2

What is the importance of understanding “toxic stress” ?

Answer 2

World-wide the risk of death by maltreatment is approximately three times greater for children under 1 than those 1-4, who in turn face double the risk of those aged 5-14
For every one child that dies, it is estimated a further 300-1500 are being abused of neglected

Question 3

What does the PNS divide up to?

Answer 3

PNS –> into Somatic Nervous System (sensory and motor neurones. voluntary) and Autonomic Nervous System (internal systems. Involuntary) –> Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

Question 4

What does the Limbic system consist of?

Answer 4

Hippocampus - acquisition of implicit memory
Amygdala - controls emotion, aggression, and formation of emotional memory
Hypothalamus - Regulates motivated behaviour

Question 5

How do we know which part of the brain is associated with mood/depression?

Answer 5

After Phineas Gages frontal lobes were destroyed in a blasting accident, his ability to plan, limit impulses, and reason were destroyed

Question 6

What can depression lead to?

Answer 6

Dramatic weight gain or loss
Irritability, restlessness and agitation
to little or too much sleep
Isolation, withdraw from friends and activities
Thoughts of death or suicide
Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
Problems thinking and concentrating

Question 7

What are the neurotransmitters associated with depression?

Answer 7

Decreased levels of Serotonin - sleep, aggression, eating, sexual behaviour and mood
Decreased levels of Dopamine - reward and pleasure
Unknown change in Norepinephrine - Related to stress

Question 8

What are the sections of the endocrine system associated with depression?

Answer 8

Circadian rhythms - disturbed CR associated with mood disturbances. Seasonal - less SAD
Increased levels of stress hormones (cortisol)
Decreased levels of oestrogen (alter activity of serotonin and norepinephrine)
Decreased levels of Testosterone after 50

Question 9

How does the brain develop and how does early experience affect that development?

Answer 9

A birth the brain is nearer its adult size than any other physical structure - 100 to 200 billion neurons
It is 90% adult weight by 2-6 years old
By two years there are the same number of neurons but a massive increase in the number of connections, when in a Stimulating environment
The first 3 years are critical to brain development, and neural connections for different functions develop sequentially. First year= 1. sensory pathways (vision, hearing) 2. Language. First&second year= Higher cognitive function

Question 10

How do experiences wire the brain and affect the endocrine system?

Answer 10

Sensitive periods of developemnt
Unresponsive care or Neglect
Stress
Hormones released due to stress

Question 11

What are the Sensitive periods of brain development?

Answer 11

Stimulation: is vital during growth spurts, which occur from infancy to early adulthood
Experience: “wires” a child’s brain growth by the development of organised neural connections
Under stimulation or neglect: impairs development
Possible to OVERWHELM children, especially in a “toxic” environment

Question 12

What are the aspects of unresponsive care or neglect?

Answer 12

Occasional Inattention
Chronic Under-stikmulation
Severe Neglect in a family context
Sever Neglect in an institutional setting

Question 13

What are the features and effects of Occasional inattention?

Answer 13

Features: Intermittent, diminished attentaion in an otherwise responsive environment
Effects: can be growth promoting under caring, supportive environments

Question 14

What are the features and effects of Chronic Under stimulation?

Answer 14

Features: Ongoing, diminished level of child-focused responsiveness and developmental enrichment
Effects: often leads to developmental delays and may be caused by a variety of factors

Question 15

What are the features and effects of Sever Neglect in a family context?

Answer 15

Features: significant, ongoing absence of one-to-one interaction, often associated with failure to provide basic needs
Effects:wide range of adverse impacts, from significant developmental impairments to immediate threat to health or survival

Question 16

What are the features and effects of Severe Neglect in an Institutional Setting?

Answer 16

Features: “Warehouse-like” condition with many children and few caregivers and no individualised adult-child relationships that are reliably responsive
Effects: Basic needs met, but lack of individualised adult responsiveness can lead to severe impairments in cognitive, physical and psychosocial development

Question 17

What does Research show about Severe Neglect?

Answer 17

Severe Neglect disrupts the way children’s brains develop and process cognitive information - increased emotional, cognitive and behavioural disorders
Alters development of biological stress response - greater risk for anxiety, depression and chronic health disorders later in life

Question 18

What are the levels of stress?

Answer 18

Positive or normal stress - moderate, short lived stress responses are normal part of life and learning to adjust to this kind of stress is adaptive
Tolerable stress - serious illness, frightening accident, parental separation - tolerable if there is parental supports that creates a safe environment
Toxic stress - strong frequent or prolonged activation of the body’s stress management system - stressors are chronic, uncontrollable and are experienced without the support of a caring adult

Question 19

How does the parasympathetic system cause the body to react when activated?

Answer 19

Constricts pupil, inhibits tear glands
Increases salivation
Slows heart
Constricts bronchi
Increases digestive functions of the stomach
Increases digestive functions of the intestine
Contracts the bladder

Question 20

How does the sympathetic system cause the body to react when activated?

Answer 20

Stimulates tear glands
dilate pupls
Inhibits salivation, increases sweating
Accelerates heart
Dilates Bronchi
Decreases digestive functions of the stomach
Secretes adrenalin
Decreases digestive function of the intestine
Inhibits bladder constriction

Question 21

Which hormones are released due to stress?

Answer 21

Adrenaline - mobiles energy stores and alters blood flow, thereby allowing the body to deal with a range of stresses - essential to survival
Cortisol - mobilises energy stores, suppresses immune responses -

Question 22

What is the effect of sustained levels of cortisol?

Answer 22

sustained levels of cortisol have been shown in animal models to damage the hippocampus, leading to impairments in learning, memory and the ability to regulate certain stress responses.

Question 23

What is the HPA pathway and Feedback to the brain?

Answer 23

The Hypothalamic pituitary- adrenal axis affects cognitions, memory, behaviour, the immune system, and other pathways
Stressor –>Brain areas –> hypothalamus –> Pituitary Gland –> Adrenal Cortex (cortisol feedback) –> Body organs

Question 24

What is the effect of toxic stress on children?

Answer 24

When children experience “toxic” stress, their cortisol levels remain elevated for prolonged periods, which may alter neural systems, and change the architecture of brain regions essential for learning and memory (damaged neurons with fewer connections)

Question 25

What does the Neurotransmitter Acetylcholine do?

Answer 25

ACh is excitatory at junctions between nerves and muscles, where is causes muscles to contract

Question 26

What disorder is the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine associated with?

Answer 26

Memory loss among patients suffering with Alzheimers disease, a degenerative disease that is increasingly common among older persons, and is believed to be caused by the deterioration of neurons that secrete ACh
Plus a number of toxins can affect the actions of ACh.

Question 27

What does the neurotransmitter Endorphins do?

Answer 27

Endorphins are a group of chemicals that are usually classified as neuromodulators, which is a substance that modifies or modulates activities of the postsynaptic neuron
Endorphins play an important role in the control of emotional behaviours (anxiety, fear, tension, pleasure) and pain
Drugs like opium and morphine bring to the same receptor sites in the brain.

Question 28

What disorder is the neurotransmitter Endorphins associated with?

Answer 28

researchers believe that endorphins are at least partially responsible for the pain reducing effects of acupuncture and placebos