The biological approach to treating OCD Flashcards
What does SSRI stand for?
‘Selective Serotonin Reuptake inhibitor’
What normally happens after serotonin has transmitted its message?
Normally after the message has been transmitted from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic by crossing the synapse, it is reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron ready to be reused.
How do SSRIs work?
They inhibit the reabsorption of the serotoin back into the presynaptic neuron. This means there is more serotonin staying iin the synapse for longer, this increases serotoinin transmission to compensate for the low transmission the OCD patient was experiencing.
What is the anti-anxiety drug that is used?
Benzodiazepines BZs
How do BZs work?
Enhance the activity of the neurotransmitter, GABA. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter (nervous system OFF switches) as it decreases the liklihood of the next neuron firing.
What effect do BZs have on the brain?
A general quieting effect on the brain, reducing anxiety.
What are the 5 evaluation points for the biological approach for treating OCD.
\+ SSRIs have been shown to be effective \+ cost effective and practical \+ beneficial for the economy - side effects - only treats the symptoms, not the cause.
One strength of SSRIs is that they have been shown to be effective.
This means that they have been shown to significantly reduce the symptoms of OCD compared to placebos.
Evidence for this comes from Soomro et al (2009) who found that SSRIs were significantly more effective than placebos in treating OCD.
+ve SSRIs have benefitted many real peoples lives.
Strength is that drug therapy is cost effective and practical.
This means that drug therapy is relatively cheap and also non-disruptive to patients lives.
For example, drugs allow patients to reduce their symptoms without having to engage with much of the hard work needed by psychological therapies like CBT.
+ve as many doctors and patients favour SSRIs for these reasons.
Strength is that drug therapy can be seen as beneficial for the economy
it is estimated that mental health issues cost the english economy around 22.5 billion/year and any effective treatments for mental illness could help to reduce this.
For example, effective drug therapy might reduce unnecessary healthcare costs on treatments for OCD that do not work and reduce the number of days people have off work sick so improving productivity.
+ve as it means drug therapy may not only have a +ve impact on sufferers’ lives, but also have economic benefits too.
A major problem with drug therapy is that of side effects
This means SSRIs may have unintended -ve effects.
for exmaple, indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive.
This is a problem as the drugs may do more harm than good.
It is argued drugs only treat the symptoms, not the cause.
This means that drugs may be effective in the short term by placing a ‘chemical mask’ on symptoms, however they may not be a lasting cure.
For example, patients normally relapse within a few weeks after medication is stopped.
This is a problem as longer term solutions like CBT may be seen as more appropriate in the long-term.
