Medical Model of Mental Illness Flashcards

1
Q

What are 3 Biological explanations for Mental Illness ?

A
  • Biochemical
  • Inheritance
  • Brain abnormality
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2
Q

What does the Biomedical model say ?

A

-Mental illness a result of biological malfunctions or disruption
-Causes and symptoms are caused by biology
–Mental illness can be diagnosed and treated in the same way as physical illness.
-We can correct or reduce the effect of these malfunctions or disruption.

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3
Q

What is the biochemical explanation of mental illness ?

A
  • Symptoms are the result of abnormal neurotransmitter levels or actions.
  • Neurotransmitters transfer information
  • Different neurotransmitters regulate different mental processes.
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4
Q

What monoamines are involved in depression ?

A
  • Serotonin- controls activity of the other neurotransmitter
  • Noradrenaline- activity levels
  • Dopamine- regulates mood
  • Depression involves lower moods and disruption to activity levels
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5
Q

How are monoamines thought to cause Mental illnesses such as depression ?

A
  • Reduction in serotonin levels leads to a failure to regulate normal dopamine and noradrenaline– which disrupts mood and activity levels.
  • Disruption to monoamine levels- caused by abnormally high levels of an enzyme that breaks down the monoamines, reduces their action and disrupts the passage of information around the brain.
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6
Q

How does inheritance explain Mental Illness ?

A
  • Genes produce physical structures and neurotransmitters
  • Genes influence psychological characteristics, including mental illness
  • Influence the nature of the physical structures and chemicals in the CNS
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7
Q

What is gene vulnerability ?

A
  • Some people are more vulnerable than others to developing mental health problems as a result of their genetic make-up.
  • The extent of gene vulnerability varies greatly between different mental illnesses.
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8
Q

How is the Serotonin transporter gene thought to cause Depression ?

A
  • Serotonin transporter gene – responsible for producing serotonin in the brain.
  • Comes in three forms, varying in the length of its strands
  • Short form leads to inefficient serotonin production
  • People with it are less resilient to the effects of stress and more vulnerable to depression.
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9
Q

How does brain abnormality explain Mental Illness ?

A
  • Brain structure and function are associated with mental illness.
  • Certain structures in the brain may develop with a different size or shape
  • Levels of electrical activity can be higher or lower in particular brain regions
  • CNS does not function normally when we suffer certain conditions.
  • Particular areas of the brain malfunction during mental disorder, maybe due to abnormal neurotransmitter levels
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10
Q

How is brain abnormality thought to cause depression ?

A
  • Role for the frontal lobes – the region at the front of the brain cortex which is particularly involved in thinking.
  • Coffey et all (1993) compared lobe size in depressed and non-depressed patients using MRI
  • Found the frontal lobe volume in depressed patients was significantly lower.
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11
Q

What was the Aim of Gottesman’s Study ?

A
  • Examine how likely it is for offering to develop a mental illness if both of their parents have mental illnesses
  • Mostly interested in schizophrenia or bipolar
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12
Q

What was Gottesman’s Sample ?

A
  • 2.7 million Danish people
  • Had an identifiable mother and father
  • Born before 1997
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13
Q

What method was Gottesman’s Study ?

A
  • Cohort study- looking at a cohort of the population

- Natural experiment

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14
Q

What was the IV of Gottesman’s Study ?

A

-Parental schizophrenia or bipolar

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15
Q

What was the DV of Gottesman’s Study ?

A

-Diagnosis of any mental illness

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16
Q

What were the results of Gottesman’s Study for schizophrenia ?

A
  • 27.3% of offspring with both parents having a diagnosis of schizophrenia had developed schizophrenia by age 52
  • Offspring with one parent diagnosed with schizophrenia the risk was 7% of a diagnosis of schizophrenia
17
Q

What were the results of Gottesman’s Study for bipolar ?

A
  • 24.95% of offspring with two bipolar parents developed the disorder by age 52
  • With one bipolar disorder 4.4.% of offspring developed the disorder themselves
18
Q

What can be concluded from Gottesman’s Study ?

A
  • Suggest genetic explanations for some mental illnesses

- Both parents with a serious mental illness is associated with increased risk of developing mental illness

19
Q

What are Biological treatments for mental illness ?

A
  • Drug therapy

- ECT

20
Q

What is ECT ?

A
  • Electrodes are placed on a patient’s temples and they are anaesthetised while an electric shock is passed through their brain.
  • ECT can be a quick fix for relieving depression while waiting for drug therapy to become effective.
21
Q

What are side effects of ECT ?

A

-Physical risks and can cause short-term confusion and memory loss.

22
Q

Why is drug therapy the most common used biological treatment for mental illness ?

A

-Often quicker than talking therapies such as CBT or behaviourist therapy.

23
Q

What are side effects of Drug therapy ?

A
  • Making the condition worse,

- Have been some possible links between antidepressants and an increase in suicidal thoughts!

24
Q

How do antidepressants work ?

A

-They raise the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters in the brain.

25
Q

How do SSRI’s work ?

A

-(SSRIs) like Prozac and Seroxat stop serotonin being broken down and reabsorbed after it has crossed a synapse

26
Q

What are the strengths of biological treatment ?

A
  • Most drug treatments are effective in relieving symptoms for many people, enabling them to manage day-to-day life.
  • Only requires that the patient remembers to take the drugs, and does not involve them making much effort in terms of lifestyle changes.
  • Can be used to relieve symptoms to help the patient prepare for the treatments
27
Q

What are the weaknesses of biological treatment ?

A
  • They do not work for everybody. Individuals can respond differently to the same drug and side effects can be problematic.
  • Drugs are unlikely to provide a long term cure.
  • May only provide temporary relief from symptoms and when the patient stops taking the drugs they may return.
  • Bias in publication may lead to drug treatments being seen as more effective than they really are.
28
Q

Why is it good to have lots of different antidepressants available ?

A

-It is important to have a lot of different antidepressants available as patients respond differently to them.

29
Q

How do MAOI’s Work ?

A
  • Prevent the breakdown of serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine
  • Levels of all three monoamines build up.
30
Q

How do Tricyclics work ?

A
  • Prevent serotonin and noradrenaline being reabsorbed after they have crossed a synapse
  • Increases their levels.