Reviewer 2

• 4 D's of Psychological Disorder

  • Psychological Dysfunction
  • Distress or Impairment
  • Atypical or Not Culturally Expected (Deviance)
  • Dangerousness
• Duration


  How long the mental state has been persisting
• Psychopathology


  Scientific study of mental disorders
• Clinical Psychology


  Applied branch of psychology that seeks to understand, assess, and treat psychological conditions in a clinical setting
• Abnormal Psychology


  Branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotions, and thought which may or may not indicate an underlying condition
• Normal Behavior


  One behavior that is like other people in the society
• Criteria for determining Abnormal Behavior

  • Norm-violation
  • Statistical rarity
  • Personal Discomfort
  • Deviation
  • Maladaptiveness
• Clinical Assessment


  The systematic evaluation and measurement of psychological, biological, and social factors in an individual presenting with a possible psychological disorder
• Diagnosis


  Process of determining whether the particular problem afflicting the individual meets all criteria for a psychological disorder
• Epidemiology


  Study of the distribution of diseases, disorders, or health-related behaviors in a given population
• Prevalence Types

  • Point Prevalence
  • 1 Year Prevalence
  • Lifetime Prevalence
• Incidence


  Number of new cases occur over a given period of time
• Sign


  Manifestation of disease that the physicians receive
• Symptom


  Subjective representation of the complaints of the patient
• Syndrome


  Group of symptoms that occur together more often by chance
• DSM-IV Axes

  • Axis I: Clinical Disorder
  • Axis II: Personality Disorders & Mental Retardation
  • Axis III: General Mental Conditions
  • Axis IV: Psychosocial & Environmental Problems
  • Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning
• Theoretical Approaches in Explaining the Etiology of Psychological Disorders

  • One-Dimensional
  • Multidimensional
• Genes


  Long molecules of DNA at various locations on chromosomes, within cell nucleus
• Chromosomes


  The chain-like structures within a cell nucleus that contain the genes
• Genotypes


  Unique genetic makeup
• Phenotypes


  Observable characteristics
• Polymorphisms


  Naturally occurring variations of genes
• Polygenic


  Influenced by multiple genes or by multiple polymorphisms of genes with any one gene having only very small effects
• Endophenotypes


  Genetic mechanisms that ultimately contribute to the underlying problems causing the symptoms and difficulties experienced by people with psychological disorders
• Genetic Epidemiology Types


  • Basic Genetic Epidemiology
  • Advanced Genetic Epidemiology
• Gene Finding


  What gene influences the behavior
• Molecular Genetics


  Biological analysis of individual DNA samples; biological processes genes affect to produce symptoms of the disorder
• Family Studies


  Examine behavioral pattern or emotional trait in the context of the family
• Proband


  Family member with the trait singled out for study
• Adoption Studies


  Identify adoptees who have a particular behavioral pattern or psychological disorder and attempt to locate first-degree relatives who were raised in different family settings
• Twin Studies


  Usually conducted to identical twins because they share genetic makeup
• Those people who reported more severe stressful life events and had at least one short allele of the 5-HTT gene were at greater risk of developing depression (Caspi et al., 2003) (serotonin-transporter gene)
• Epigenetics


  Factors other than inherited DNA sequence, such as new learning or stress, that alter the phenotypic expression of genes
• Neuroscience


  Study of the nervous system, especially the brain to understand behavior, emotions, and cognitive processes
• Neurotransmitters and Associated Behaviors


  • Glutamate (E) [ memory ]
  • GABA (I) [ calming ]
  • Serotonin (I) [ mood ]
  • Dopamine [ pleasure ]
  • Epinephrine [ fight-or-flight ]
  • Norepinephrine [ concentration ]
  • Endorphins [ euphoria ]
  • Acetylcholine (E) [ learning ]
• Brain Regions and Associated Behaviors

  • Brain Stem
  • Limbic System
  • Basal Ganglia
  • Cerebral Cortex
• Somatic Nervous System


  Controls the muscles
• Autonomic Nervous System


  • Sympathetic
  • Parasympathetic
• Endocrine System


  • Pituitary
  • Thyroid
  • Parathyroid
  • Adrenal
  • Pineal
  • Pancreas
  • Testes
  • Ovaries
• Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis


  1. Messages in the form of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) travel from the hypothalamus to pituitary gland

  2. Pituitary Gland releases adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which stimulates the cortical part of the adrenal gland (located at the top of the kidney) to produce epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol (stress hormone), which is released into the general circulation

  3. Cortisol gives negative feedback to the hypothalamus and pituitary to decrease their release of CRH and ACTH, which in turn reduces the release of adrenaline and cortisol