Module #34 - Biomedical Therapies Flashcards
Biomedical therapies
The treatment of psychological disorders by changing the brain’s functioning by using prescribed drugs, electro convulsive therapy, or surgery.
Deinstitutionalization
The release of patients from mental hospitals into the community.
3 types of drug treatments
- Antipsychotic medications for schizophrenia
- Antianxiety medications for responding to stress
- Antidepressant medications for mood disorders
Antipsychotic drugs
A category of medications used primarily to treat schizophrenia. Drugs work by blocking dopamine.
Thorazine
One of the first antipsychotic drugs (dopamine lowering). Side effects include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, tardive dyskinesia.
Tardive dyskinesia
A permanent condition of muscle tremors
Clozaril
Less side effects than Thorazine but can cause damage to white blood cells therefore patients need to be tested regularly. It’s expensive but considered the most effective treatment for schizophrenia.
Antianxiety drugs
A category of medication used to treat people undergoing significant stress and can be helpful in treating people with anxiety disorders.
Antidepressant drugs
A category of medications used primarily to boot serotonin levels in the brain. They can be helpful in treating major depression.
e.g. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil (classified as SSRIs)
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
Classification of antidepressants which work by blocking the reuptake of serotonin after it has been released.
Lithium
Medication used primarily to treat bipolar disorder.
It’s not known how or why lithium works but a large number of bipolar patients report improvement with the drug (70%).
Therapeutic lag
Antidepressants must be taken for about a month before they become effective. Depression is cyclical; can make it difficult to determine if drug is working.
How antidepressants work
- They affect brain neurotransmitters.
- They don’t work. People moods improve on the own because of the cyclical nature of depression.
- They work because users expect them to work (the placebo effect).
Electroconvulsive therapy
Therapy for major depression in which a brief electrical current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient.
Insulin Therapy
Depressed patients are given an overdose of insulin to cause a convulsion. Replaced by ECT.