ocd: bio treatment drug therapy

Question 1

aims

Answer 1

• to increase or decrease activity of neurotransmitters in the brain.
• various drugs can be used to treat by targeting diff neurotransmitters especially serotonin.

Question 2

1) anti depressants eg. SSRI’s

Answer 2

the most common treatment today.
particular those that work on serotonin levels.
- they raise serotonin levels by blocking its reuptake from the synapse back into then releasing neuron, so making more serotonin available for longer thereby increasing activity on the serotonergic pathway.

• dosage used is higher than when using for depression.

Question 3

2) anti anxiety drugs

Answer 3

examples= benzodiazepines and beta blockers.
- anxiety is regulated in the brain by GABA, this lowers physiological arousal and return the body back to a resting state following a period of heightened arousal or anxiety.
- benzodiazepines such as valium work by increasing the effectiveness of GABA in regulating anxiety. this then makes the person feel more relaxed.

these drugs relieve the physiological effects of anxiety by blocking the stress hormones that are released into the blood stream, by the adrenal glands.
beta blockers prevent the physiological response occurring and also helps to reduce obsessional thoughts that lead to compulsive behaviour.

Question 4

appropriateness

Answer 4

drug treatment may not be right for all sufferers,
Brody found that brain differences predicts whether someone will respond better to drugs or therapy. it’s only gained by scanning which suggests that prescribing drugs is a hit or miss.
- in addition the drugs might not be right for children or pregnant woman who are afraid of the side effects eg. nausea, headaches on their unborn child.
- in some situations can lead to sh
or suicide, so are closely monitored.

Question 5

practical

Answer 5

there are practical advantages
this is because they are relatively cheap and widely available.
CA= despite this, a downside is that the drugs have side effects. eg SSRI’s can cause insomnia, nausea and anti anxiety may cause drowsiness.
- this suggests that despite being useful, they may not suit everyone and should be used with caution.

Question 6

effectiveness

Answer 6

soomro reviewed studies which compared the effectiveness of SSRI’S with placebos, finding significant better results for the SSRI’S. symptoms typically declines by 70%.
- further support comes from POTS which demonstrated a decrease in the severity of symptoms when taking sertraline.
this implies that drugs improve the quality of life for sufferers.
CA= the POTS study also claimed that drugs are more effective when used in conjunction with therapy.

Question 7

ethics

Answer 7

the studies which test the effectiveness of drugs use the placebo method which is arguably unethical as it means one group is left untreated. implies that drug treatment is based on unethical evidence.

Question 8

alternative

Answer 8

CBT