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Psychological disorder > State of Art > Flashcards

State of Art Flashcards

1
Q

What is a paradigm?

A

A model/ conceptual framework of how we think things work
It impacts how we collect, analyse and interpret information

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2
Q

What are the three main paradigms in psychopathology?

A
  1. Genetic
  2. Neuroscience
  3. Cognitive behavioural
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3
Q

What’s the Genetic paradigm?

A

Genes contribute to risk for psychological disorders

23 pairs of chromosomes and the last pair is either
XX- women
XY- male
The rest are all the same

Chromosomes are made up of DNA
In DNA genes determine a characteristic, ie. Phenotype, hair or eye colour
Genes make proteins that our body needs to function , especially the brain

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4
Q

What is gene expression

A

Genotype- the genetic makeup of an organism
turns into
Phenotype - individuals observable traits

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5
Q

What are other contributors to the genetic paradigm?

A

The environment

Behavioural genetics

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6
Q

The role of the environment in genetics

A

The environment, ie. stress, relationships, healthcare etc, influences how genes are expressed

Genes and the environment don’t make anything happen independently, they interact with each other.

Everything about us depends both on our genes and on the environment in which our genes are expressed.

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7
Q

Gene-Environment Interactions

Give an example

A

Genes may pre-dispose us to seek out or become exposed to a certain environment that may change the way in which the gene is expressed.

Example:
Fraternal twins both have genes that give them a risk of depression.
because they’re not identical their genes aren’t all the same.
One of the twins has a genetic predisposition to introversion.
A different gene will change the environmental setting in which you live.

Introvert- might find it difficult to find new friends
Extrovert- might establish a support system everywhere they go.

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8
Q

What is behavioural genetics?

A

The study of the degree to which genes and the environment influence behaviour.

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9
Q

What is heritability?

A

reflects the extent to which variation in observed behaviour can be accounted for by genetic factors.

It’s a population concept- if you have a trait that has a heritability of 0.4, 40% of the variability is accounted for by genes
Doesn’t mean that 40 percent of the disorder is caused by genes

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10
Q

What’s an example of heritability?

A

seeds, one with nutrient deficient others without
the differences between the plants are completely different.

2 different estimates whether you study the entire plant group together vs you look at them separately.

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11
Q

How is heritability estimated

A

Twin studies
Identical- monozygotic- share 100 percent of genes
Fraternal- dizygotic- share 50% of their genes

One popular method is to compare identical and non-identical twins in terms of concordance (sameness in a trait)

But they shared their environment…

Another is to compare identical twins, reared apart or no shared environment( controlling genetic info but changing environment)

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12
Q

What did Turkeimer et al 2003 posit.

A

Variation in intelligence in poor families has more to do with environment and less with genes

The reverse is true for kids who grow up in wealthy families.

High SES identical have the same IQ

Low SES identical have different IQ

Fraternal high SES and low SES have similar

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13
Q

What is molecular genetics

A

The study of what is heritable by identifying specific genes and describing how they work.

Seeks to identify differences between people in the structure and expression of DNA

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14
Q

What is a polymorphism?

A

Any difference in the nucleotide sequence between individuals, ie. Blood type

These differences can be single base pair changes, deletions, insertions, or even changes in the number of copies of a given DNA sequence.

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15
Q

What’s a nucleotide?

A

Building blocks in DNA

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16
Q

What is a single nucleotide polymorphism?

A

(SNPs, pronounced ‘snips’)

are single base pair changes, the most common type.- looking at changes from one person to another

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17
Q

What are the 2 main research methods for the genetic paradigm?

A
  1. Knockout animals
  2. Comparing humans with different allele combinations
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18
Q

What is knockout animals?

A

Its called knockout studies because a specific gene is knocked out of the animals system

19
Q

Example of knockout studies

A

the gene that is responsible for a specific receptor for the neurotransmitter serotonin,
called 5-HT1A can be knocked out in mice before their birth.

Results in an anxious phenotype when they are an adult.

Elevated plus maze:
They spend more time in the closed arms, ie. exhibit less exploration

20
Q

Compare humans with different allele combinations

A

Focusing on serotonin, looking at the specific region of the gene and compare ppl with differences in the gene

Comparing ppl with 2 short alleles that makes it work less well v ppl with long ones allows it to work better

21
Q

Overview of the genetic paradigm

A

Most disorders are polygenic

genetic factors likely increase vulnerability rather than determining whether or whether or not it occurs

Just because disorders are heritable, doesn’t mean that everyone with a biological risk marker will develop a disorder.

Combination of altered genes and poor environment gives rise to increased risk of disorder

22
Q

What does polygenic mean?

A

Multiple genes are involved, each with small effects

23
Q

What does the neuroscience paradigm posit?
What things are involved in this analysis

A

Psychological disorders are caused by abnormalities in the brain

Involve:

Neurotransmitters

Brain structure and function

Neuroendocrine system,ie. how we respond to threats

Beware of false dichotomies between paradigms

Biological, Psychological and Social paradigms are just different levels of analysis

24
Q

What are neurons?

A

Messengers of the nervous system

Neurons use electrical nerve impulses called action potentials

There are 86 billion neurons in the brain

Its made up of a cell body, dendrites and an axon

25
Q

What is a synapse

A

The gap between the neurons

26
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A

Chemicals that allow neurons to pass signals to one another

27
Q

How do neurons and neurotransmitters work

A

Electrical signals cause neurotransmitters to be released into the synapse and are received by receptors

Receptors are neurotransmitter-specific

These messages can be excitatory or inhibitory

Excitatory- happy

inhibitory- sad

28
Q

What’s reuptake?

A

the process through which unused neurotransmitters are collected by the presynaptic neuron

29
Q

What are the key neurotransmitters involved in psychology

A

Dopamine

Serotonin

Norepinephrine- noradrenaline

Gamma-amino butyric acid GABA

30
Q

What’s the most compelling evidence for the neuroscience paradigm?

A

Drugs that target these neurotransmitter systems have efficacy in treating specific disorders

Example: antidepressants primarily block reuptake of serotonin from the synapse

31
Q

Case study in relation to brain structure and function.

A

25-year-old who had a mental tube shoved up his eyeball through his prefrontal cortex- had a significant personality change

32
Q

Disorders and Brain structure and function

A

Psychological disorders can result from various forms of brain damage

OCD and tics can manifest if children are exposed to strep that can interfere with the basal ganglia
Note: the number of cases are very small and there are very view structural brain differences associated with mental health
Neuronal cell death plays a central role in Alzheimer’s Disease pathology

NOTE: There are only a few detectible differences in brain structure associated with mental health

33
Q

What’s the neuroendocrine system

A

How the brain regulates basic survival functions

An important part of this is stress response, ie. Freezing response in animals
Sometimes we freeze and sometimes we fight.

Chronic stress leads to an increased risk of psychological disorders

Some psychological disorders appear to be linked to inappropriate HPA axis responses – e.g. Panic Disorder, PTSD

34
Q

What is the neuroendocrine system regulated by?

A

hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis- HPA axis

35
Q

Are psychiological disorders all in the brain?

A

Some types of brain activity and structural changes are associated with psychological disorders

There are medications that target neurotransmitters that are effective in treating psychological disorders

Long term activation of the HPA-axis increases risk for psychological disorders

But that is not always the most effective way to understand them

36
Q

What’s the cognitive behavioural paradigm?

A

Thoughts create feelings
Feelings create behaviour
Behaviour reinforces thoughts

37
Q

Behaviour bit of the paradigm

A

Behaviour reinforces thoughts

If behaviour is reinforced it is more likely to be repeated, if it results in a positive feeling it may lead to why it gets repeated, ie. Drug abuse

Its also reinforced when escaping from something unpleasant

38
Q

What’s the main treatment for the behavioural bit and what does it do

A

Exposure therapy

Exposing a person to the feared stimulus

Resist carrying out the avoidance behaviour

Sitting with the anxiety and see that nothing bad follows it

Gradually, the stimulus no longer provokes and intense anxious reaction

39
Q

Are we slaves to reinforcement, just like the pavlovian theory?

A

We are capable of complex thoughts and beliefs

These shape out behaviour and exposure to reinforcers

40
Q

What does cognitive mean?

A

Combines the process of perceiving, recognising, conceiving, judging and reasoning.

41
Q

What does schema mean?

A

A cognitive framework that we use to organise and interpret information

It can bias how we interpret information

42
Q

Interpretive Bias in Depression

A

People with depression are more likely to judge neutral and happy faces as being sad
The negative bias is reduced with successful treatment
Antidepressant medication can change this bias

43
Q

Cognitive therapy

A

Cognitive restructuring: Help clients identify and challenge negative thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs

Problem solving: Find ways to deal with problems in lives

Often combined wit behavioural techniques, ie. CBT

Psychological disorder (20 decks)

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