Topic 2 - Brain Abnormality as an Explanation of Mental Illness

Question 1

What did Brown et al reveal?

Answer 1

In post-mortem studies comparing the brains of patents with schizophrenia against those of patients with affective disorder - that the brains of schizophrenia were 6% lighter and had enlarged lateral ventricles and significantly thinner para-hippocampal cortices

Question 2

What did Weinberger find?

Answer 2

By doing MRI scans of twins who were identical but who were not concordant for schizophrenia - that there were differences between the two groups in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus volume

Question 3

What has research show into the explanation of depression?

Answer 3

Patients with depression can show a smaller hippocampus volume than people not experiencing depression

Question 4

What may happen when people with depression experience stress?

Answer 4

Lead to the release of cortisol and this can destroy hippocampus cells (meaning that they can not respond to stimulation I the way that they normally might. This would also mean that this would reduce the effect of serotonin

Question 5

What did Sheline et al find?

Answer 5

In a study of elderly women whose depression was in remission - that the hippocampus was smaller in these women that it was in other women of the same age

Question 6

What might a likely treatment be?

Answer 6

Drug therapy would be most likely, although in some cases surgery may be used