medical model (mental health) Flashcards
what does the biochemical explanation suggest
the biochemical explanation suggests that an imbalance of chemicals called neurotransmitters cause mental illness. this could be due to too many/ too few neurotransmitters or too few/ too many receptors, both of which affect binding potential
give an example of the biochemical explanation of a mental health disorder
an imbalance of the neurotransmitter dopamine which is associated with reward and pleasure is suggested to cause schizophrenia (the dopamine hypothesis)
too much dopamine in the parietal lobe which deals with perception can lead to positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions.
too little dopamine in the pre- frontal cortex which deals with judgement and decision making can lead to negative symptoms such as difficulty concentrating
describe synaptic transmission
an electrical impulse travels down the axon of the pre synaptic neuron. this stimulates neurotransmitters which diffuse as vesicles across the synaptic cleft and bind to the receptors on the post synaptic neuron. this creates the sense of a certain feeling or emotion. any neurotransmitters which do not bind to the receptors are either reabsorbed into the pre synaptic neuron for reuptake or are broken down by enzymes or simply diffuse away.
what are strengths of the biochemical explanation
+ scientific as we can do PET scans on peoples brains to see the hormonal imbalances, therefore the theory is falsifiable
+ useful as we can develop medicines and treatments such as antipsychotics and antidepressants to treat these hormonal imbalances for people experiencing symptoms
+we know theres a link between dopamine and schizophrenia because drugs such as cannabis or speed which elevate dopamine levels can cause symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations
what are weaknesses of the biochemical explanation
- reductionist as it only focuses on nature and biology such as our brains and hormones as an explanation for mental illness and ignores that factors such as upbringing and background can cause mental illness too e.g theres a strong link between mental disorders and poverty.
-internally deterministic as it suggests we naturally have these hormonal imbalances therefore we cannot control our experiences having these disorders- this is bad as people may underestimate their abilities or feel like they have no free will over their behaviour due to the hormonal imbalance
-difficult to generalise as we dont know if everyone with a disorder has a hormonal imbalance as not everyone has had a brain scan so cause and effect cannot be established
what does the genetic explanation for mental illness suggest
the genetic explanation suggests that inividuals inherit genes or a set of genes from their parents which makes them predisposed to a mental health condition- so mental disorders are heritable
describe some statistics of monozygotic and dizygotic twins and bipolar disorder
- half of those (twins) with bipolar disorder have a similar pattern of mood fluctuations
-if one monozygotic twin has bipolar disorder the other twin has a 60-80% chance od developing it too
-if one dizygotic twin has bipolar disorder the other has a 20% chance of developing it too
what is concordance
the rate of probability that two people will develop the same trait
what are strengths of the genetic explanation for mental illness
+ genetic counselling- its good to know if you ar emore predisposed to a disorder as you know what to expect if symptoms start showing
+ arguably more hollistic than the other medical model explanations as it suggests we inherit the gene which predisposes us to a mental disorder (nature) but it is down to the environment we are in whether the characteristic is expressed
what are weaknesses of the genetic explanation for mental health
- research done on separated twins can be unethical if they were separated for the purpose of the research
- knowing youre more predisposed to a mental disorder can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, labelling and stigma e.g if people know your parents have a mental disorder you may experience stigma and discrimination as people may believe you have it too
- most socially sensitive as suggesting adoption over having biological children for example, because both parents have a mental illness is stigmatising
what does the brain abnormality explanation of mental health suggest
the brain abnormality explanation of mental illness suggests that over or under activity in a particular brain region causes mental illness or differences in structure or brain injury or tumor growth.
how does the amygdala link to social phobia
emotional responses stm from the limbic system which includes a small almond sized structure called the amygdala. the amygdala is responsible in responding in startling and fearful stimuli.
the limbic system relies heavily on the neurotransmitter serotonin
people with social phobias have been found to have a overactive amydgala. it has increased activity when shown fearful emotional stimuli
describe a brain anormality for schizophrenia
people with schizophrenia tend to have reduced grey matter in the temporal lobes and in the hippocampus
reduced grey matter in the temporal lobes leads to alogia (poor abilities to speak/ limited speech)
reduced grey matter in the hippocampus leads to the flat effect (lack of emotional response or activoty e.g limited facial expressions or monotone speech)
what are strengths of the brain abnormality explanation
+ scientific as we can see brain abnormalities on brain scans e.g tumors or reduced grey matter which can cause mental illness- therefore this theory is falsifiable
+ useful as we can encourage neuroplasticity e.g through brain training apps
what are weaknesses of the brain abnormality explanation
- reductionist as it only suggests that brain abnormalities (biology) are responsible for mental illness. this can be seen as being too simplistic as it ignores factors such as our environment
-we cant be sure of cause and effect because we dont know whether the abnormality is whats causing the disorder. what if its the disorder thats causing the abnormality- we wouldnt know this unless we scanned everyones brain
what was the aim of gottesmans study
- to conduct a large scale study into the inheritability of mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar depression- both the manic and low mood sides of depression- and unipolar depression- low moods only)
what was the method of gottesmans study
cohort analysis/ statistical analysis
who were the participants and what was the sampling method of gottesmans study
2.6 million people from the civil registration system in denmark- contained information on any mental health diagnosis
all had to have a clear link to their biological mother and father and had to have been over 10 years old on january 1 2007
the register was highly anonymised by using identification numbers so data remained confidential. this information was recorded by researchers
all diagnoses were formally made using the ICD
what was the procedure of gottesmans study
data was gathered on the offspring and both parents and any diagnoses od schizophrenia, bipolar and unipolar depression were recorded.
the data was categorised into 4 groups:
-two parents with a diagnosis of mental illness
-one parent with a diagnosis of mental illness
-neither parent with a diagnosis of a mental illness
-general population (0,1,2 diagnosed parents to create a ‘baseline’
what were the results of gottesmans study
incidence of a mental health disorder increased if one parent had a diagnosis vs if neither parent did
this increased again if both parents had a diagnosis vs if just one had a diagnosis
the risk of offspring having a mental disorder is 31.7 times greater if both parents have a disorder vs none
the risk of offspring having a mental disorder is 3.9 times higher if two parents have a disorder vs only one
e,g if both parents are bipolar the offspring is 25% more likely to develop bipolar disorder. if only one parent has it then the offspring is 4% likely to develop bipolar disorder
what did gottesman conclude
there is a strong genetic link in mental health disorders- they are heritable
however environmental factors cannot be ruled out as it is down to the environment whether these predispositions are expressed e.g poverty
give strengths of gottesmans study
+ secondary data is readily available so its easy to conduct a study on a large, more representative sample
+ quantitative data is quick and easy to analyse and develop % risks of disorders across groups
+ quantitative data is very objective so its not open to interpretations or bias
+ ethical as all data was anonymous so confidentiality was adhered to
+ high in population validity as 2.6 million people were used so results should be generalisable to the wider population
+ high in reliability as 2.6 million pieces of data allows for a consistent trend to be seen thats not skewed by anomalies
high in ecological validity as the data is true to real life as it is based on real diagnoses from doctors
give weaknesses of gottesmans study
- we can question internal validity due to the use of secondary data as gottesman didnt collect the data himself so would be unsure of any inaccuracies e.g people who were diagnosed after data was collected, people who were misdiagnosed or never got a diagnosis when they should have
- quantitative data lacks depth and detail as it is only numbers so lack of understanding e.g how severe the disorder is
how do MAOIs work (phenelzine)
MAOIs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors are used to treat anxiety and depression
they alter the chemical imbalance by increasing levels of seratonin and dopamine
they work by inhibiting the activity of the monoamine oxidase enzyme which usually breaks down the excess seratonin in the synapse- therefore the drug stops the breakdown of seratonin by the enzyme
this leads to an increase in the concentrations of seratonin and dopamine which reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression
these can cause severe side effects
how do SSRIs work
SSRIs work by inhibiting reuptake meaning more seratonin is able to pass across the synapse to pass further messages between nerve cells
they are a common antidepressant and anti anxiety tablet and is usually the first medication prescribed
when precribed, theyre taken at the lowest possible dosage necessary an can take 2-4 weeks to improve symptoms
how does ECT work
ECT is used to treat severe depression as a last resort treatment
ECT is electroconvulsion therapy and includes a controlled induced seizure in the patient to alter their brain chemistry
muscle relaxant is used to stop the convulsions from spreading around the body and the procedure is done under general anaesthetic
side effects are memory loss
the procedure lasts a minute
it works better when paired with medication even if the patient didnt previously respond to that medication
what are weaknesses of biomedical treatments
- suggest that mental disorders are only due to biochemical factors- if the cause is not biological e.g poverty then the medication wont work
-taking medication requires adherence e.g if you stop taking them because you feel better, youll experience adverse effects
what are strengths of biomedical treatments
+ there are many different medication and doses available so if some dont work there are many options
+ medication is quicker and cheaper than therapy and other non biological treatments
+there is clinical evidence available to back up the effectiveness of the medication
+ethical as they require informed consent to take so the patient knows exactly what to expect
