Psychopathology

    Cards (92)

    • Psychopathology
      The study of mental disorders in terms of their causes, development, course, classification, and treatment
    • Mental health conditions described by psychopathology
      • Depression
      • Anxiety disorders
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Personality disorders
    • Understanding and studying psychopathology is a crucial part of diagnosing and treating these mental health disorders
    • Statistical Infrequency
      A person's trait, thinking, or behavior is classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual
    • With the statistical infrequency definition, it is necessary to be clear about how rare a trait or behavior needs to be before we class it as abnormal
    • Deviation from Social Norms
      A person's thinking or behavior is classified as abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about what is expected or acceptable behavior in a particular social group
    • Deviation from Social Norms definition
      • Considers the degree to which a norm is violated, the importance of that norm, and the value attached by the social group to different sorts of violations
      • Distinguishes between rude, eccentric, abnormal, or criminal violations
    • Failure to Function Adequately (FFA)

      An abnormality that prevents the person from carrying out the range of behaviors that society would expect, such as getting out of bed each day, holding down a job, and conducting successful relationships
    • Criteria of FFA
      • Personal distress (e.g., anxiety or depression)
      • Unpredictability (displaying unexpected behaviors and loss of control)
      • Irrationality
    • The more features of personal dysfunction a person has, the more they are considered abnormal
    • Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
      An absence of characteristics necessary for ideal mental health, such as resistance to stress, growth and self-actualization, high self-esteem, autonomy, and accurate perception of reality
    • Hoarding disorder is defined as 'a difficulty parting with items and possessions, which leads to severe anxiety and extreme clutter that affects living or work spaces'
    • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

      An anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts (i.e., obsessions) coupled with a need to perform specific acts repeatedly (i.e., compulsions)
    • Common clinical obsessions in OCD
      • Fear of contamination (esp., being infected by germs)
      • Repetitive thoughts of violence (killing or harming someone)
      • Sexual obsessions
      • Obsessive doubt
    • Common compulsions in OCD
      • Cleaning
      • Washing
      • Checking
      • Counting
      • Touching
    • Cognitive characteristic of OCD
      Obsessions dominate one's thinking and are persistent and recurrent thoughts, images, or beliefs entering the mind uninvited and which cannot be removed
    • Behavioral characteristic of OCD
      Compulsions are the repetitive behavioral responses intended to neutralize these obsessions, often involving rigidly applied rules
    • OCD sufferers recognize their compulsions as unreasonable but believe something bad will happen if they don't perform that behavior
    • The SERT gene (Serotonin Transporter) appears mutated in individuals with OCD, leading to increased serotonin reuptake and decreased serotonin levels
    • The COMT gene regulates dopamine function, and a mutated version of this gene in OCD individuals causes decreased COMT activity and higher dopamine levels
    • Carey and Gottesman (1981) found a higher concordance rate for obsessive symptoms in identical twins compared to fraternal twins, suggesting genetic factors are moderately important in OCD
    • Genes alone do not determine who will develop OCD - they only create vulnerability, and other factors must trigger the disorder
    • Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

      A brain region involved in decision-making and the regulation of primitive aspects of behavior, an overactive PFC causes an exaggerated control of primal impulses
    • Identical twins
      More similar environment than fraternal twins as they tend to be treated the same
    • Genes
      Do not directly determine who will develop OCD, they only create vulnerability
    • Concordance rates for OCD are not 100%, showing it is due to an interaction of genetic and other factors</b>
    • OCD
      May be culturally rather than genetically transmitted as family members may observe and imitate each other's behavior, or be more vulnerable due to stressful environment rather than genetic factors
    • Neural mechanisms
      Brain regions, structures like neurons, and neurotransmitters involved in sending messages through the nervous system
    • Prefrontal cortex (PFC)

      • Involved in decision-making and regulation of primitive behavior
      • Overactive PFC causes exaggerated control of primal impulses
    • Primal instinct

      • Avoiding germs after bathroom visit
    • Overactive PFC in OCD
      Obsessions and compulsions continue, leading to repetitive behaviors
    • Serotonin
      Neurotransmitter thought to be involved in regulating mood, reduced levels in OCD
    • Dopamine
      Abnormally high levels in OCD, may influence inability to stop focusing on obsessive thoughts and repetitive behaviors
    • Brain scans show increased activity in PFC of OCD patients
    • Causation between neurotransmitter levels and OCD cannot be inferred, only associations have been identified
    • Biochemical abnormalities are not specific to OCD and may be true of mental distress in general
    • Psychological therapy (CBT) can be a successful OCD treatment, difficult to account for in serotonin hypothesis
    • Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
      Effective drug treatments for OCD that increase serotonin levels
    • Drugs that mainly affect neurotransmitters other than serotonin are of little or no value in treating OCD
    • Reduction in dopamine levels
      Positively correlated with reduction in OCD symptoms
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