Mental Illness

Question 1

What is Descartes theory of mind/body distinction?

Answer 1

The human mind is distinct from the brain. The body could have physical ailments (physicians and medicine), but disorders of the mind were spiritual in nature (clergymen and religion)

Question 2

What is a mental illness?

Answer 2

A diagnosable disorder of thought, mood, or behavior, which causes severe distress and impairs daily function

Question 3

What is Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis for mental illness?

Answer 3

The idea that much of mental life is unconscious and past experiences, particularly in childhood, shape how a person will feel and respond throughout life

Question 4

What is the treatment for mental illness according to Freud?

Answer 4

Help patient uncover secrets of the unconscious that often occurred during childhood and were suppressed from consciousness

Question 5

What is Skinner’s Theory of behaviorism of mental illness?

Answer 5

Mental illness occurs when maladaptive behaviors are learned

Question 6

What is psychotherapy treatment?

Answer 6

Relies solely on verbal communication to help the patient
Talk therapy is not appropriate for all mental disorders

Question 7

What are anxiety disorders?

Answer 7

The most common psychiatric disorders.
Involve the inappropriate and pathological expression of fear, which prevents normal function.
Panic disorder
Agoraphobia
Generalized anxiety disorder
Social phobia

Question 8

What is a panic disorder?

Answer 8

Recurrent panic attacks
Feelings of intense terror
Palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, chest pain,
Feels like you are having a heart attack

Question 9

What is agoraphobia?

Answer 9

Fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or embarrassing

Question 10

What is PTSD?

Answer 10

Experiencing or witnessing a shocking event or events causing stress

Question 11

What are PTSD symptoms?

Answer 11

Increased anxiety
Intrusive memories
Dreams or flashbacks of the traumatic experiences
Emotional numbness

Question 12

What is OCD?

Answer 12

Recurring intrusive thoughts, and worries that the person perceives as being inappropriate.
Then repetitive behaviors to relieve the anxiety associated with obsessions

Question 13

What are some of the biological bases of anxiety disorders?

Answer 13

Genetic predisposition for many anxiety disorders.
Stressful life events for others.

Question 14

What role does regulation of HPA axis has on anxiety disorders?

Answer 14

Anxiety disorders have been associated with hyperactivity of the amygdala or hypoactivity of the hippocampus

Question 15

What is psychotherapy for anxiety disorders?

Answer 15

Gradually expose the patient to the stimuli that produce the anxiety
Reinforce the notion that the stimuli are not dangerous

Question 16

What are benzodiazepines?

Answer 16

Anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) drugs
Addictive, diazepam
Bind to GABA receptor and enhance function
Suppress activity in brain circuits including those used in stress response Alcohol has same effect

Question 17

What are serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)?

Answer 17

Anxiety-reducing drug
Prolongs actions of 5-HT by blocking reuptake
Can take 4-6 weeks to become effective
Increases number glucocorticoid receptors in hippocampus
Increase neurogenesis in the hippocampus

Question 18

What are examples of disorders of mood?

Answer 18

Major Depression, Bipolar disorder

Question 19

What is major depression disorder?

Answer 19

Severe symptoms that interfere with daily life
symptoms include feelings of guilt and worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, recurrent thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts

Question 20

What is bipolar disorder?

Answer 20

Characterized by cycling mood changes- from extreme highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression)
Type 1- mania with or without periods of extreme depression
Type 2- hypomania with extreme depression

Question 21

What is the monoamine hypothesis?

Answer 21

Idea that mood disorders arose from depleted levels of serotonin and norepinephrine
Depression must be a deficit in one of these neurotransmitter systems, which can be repaired with antidepressants

Question 22

What are MAO inhibitors?

Answer 22

Enhance NE and 5-HT action by preventing enzymatic destruction

Question 23

What are tricycles?

Answer 23

Enhance NE and 5-HT action by blocking reuptake

Question 24

What are limitations of monoamine hypothesis?

Answer 24

SSRI require weeks to achieve clinical efficacy and do not work in up to 40% patients but does works up to 60%

Question 25

What is the diathesis-stress hypothesis?

Answer 25

Genetic predisposition with hyperactivity of the HPA activity due to stressors (see elevated cortisol, reduced volume of hippocampus)

Question 26

What is the anterior cingulate cortex dysfunction?

Answer 26

Increased resting state activity of anterior cingulate cortex in depressed patients
activity decreased following successful treatment for depression

Question 27

What is psychotherapy for mood disorders?

Answer 27

Efforts to overcome negative thought processes; for mild to moderate cases

Question 28

What is ECT?

Answer 28

A treatment for mood disorders
electroconvulsive therapy of the temporal lobe, immediate result

Question 29

What is deep brain stimulation?

Answer 29

Stimulate anterior cingulate, recruits inhibitory neurons to reduce activity

Question 30

What is schizophrenia?

Answer 30

Characterized by loss of contact with reality
Disruption of thought, perception, mood, and movement
symptoms grouped into three clusters: positive, negative, cognitive

Question 31

What are positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 31

Delusions
Hallucinations (usually auditory)

Question 32

What are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 32

Impairment of normal functions
reduced expression of emotion
withdrawal from social interactions

Question 33

What are cognitive impairments of schizophrenia?

Answer 33

Impaired working memory and executive function

Question 34

What is the biological basis of schizophrenia?

Answer 34

Schizophrenia has the highest heritability of the mental illness
If a twin has it, the other twin has a 50% chance to have schizophrenia
Environmental factors can trigger if predisposed

Question 35

What is the neurodevelopmental hypothesis?

Answer 35

Schizophrenia is the result of neurodevelopmental alterations
like loss of gray matter counterbalanced by enlarged ventricles

Question 36

What is the dopamine hypothesis?

Answer 36

Schizophrenia results from too much dopamine
Because high doses of amphetamines can produce psychotic symptoms with positive symptoms identical to schizophrenia

Question 37

What is the glutamate hypothesis?

Answer 37

Schizophrenia arises from NMDA glutamate receptor deficits
Schizophrenic patients have low levels of glutamate receptors

Question 38

What are neuroleptics?

Answer 38

Treatment for positive symptoms of schizophrenia
side effects: persistent motor impairments