Abnormal Psychology

• Myelin sheath


  White, fatty covering that provides insulation so signals from adjacent neurons do not affect one another and increases the speed of signal transmission
• Axon terminals


  End of the axon where the electrical impulse becomes a chemical message and is released into the synaptic cleft
• Synaptic cleft


  Space between neurons
• Glial cells

  • Support cells in the nervous system
  • Act as a glue and hold the neuron in place
  • Form the myelin sheath
  • Provide nourishment for the cell
  • Remove waste products
  • Protect the neuron from harmful substances
• Nerves


  Group of axons bundled together like wires in an electrical cable
• Neural Transmission


  Transducers or receptor cells in the major organs of the five sensory systems convert physical energy and send it to the brain via neural impulse
• Neurotransmitters

  • Dopamine (excitatory/inhibitory)
  • Serotonin (inhibitory)
  • Norepinephrine or noradrenaline (excitatory)
  • GABA (inhibitory)
  • Glutamate (excitatory)
• Dopamine


  Controls voluntary movements, associated with reward mechanism (pleasure)
• Serotonin


  Controls pain, sleep cycle, digestion, leads to stable mood (low levels lead to depression)
• Norepinephrine or noradrenaline


  Increases heart rate, blood pressure, regulates mood
• GABA


  Inhibitory neurotransmitter responsible for blocking signals of excitatory neurotransmitters responsible for anxiety and panic (calming)
• Glutamate


  Excitatory neurotransmitter associated with learning and memory
• Chemical imbalances, especially neurotransmitter imbalances, are believed to be responsible for many mental disorders
• Brain structures

  • Medulla
  • Pons
  • Reticular formation
  • Cerebellum
  • Thalamus
  • Hypothalamus
  • Amygdala
  • Hippocampus
• Medulla


  Regulates breathing, heart rate, blood pressure
• Pons


  Acts as a bridge connecting the cerebellum and medulla, helps transfer messages between different parts of the brain and spinal cord
• Reticular formation


  Responsible for alertness and attention
• Cerebellum


  Involved in balance, coordination of body movements, learning of simple responses and acquired reflexes
• Thalamus


  Major sensory relay center for all senses except smell
• Hypothalamus


  Involved in drives associated with survival, regulates temperature, controls autonomic nervous system
• Amygdala


  Responsible for evaluating sensory information and quickly determining its emotional importance
• Hippocampus


  Gateway to memory, allows spatial memory formation, involved in memory consolidation
• Cerebrum regions

  • Frontal lobe
  • Parietal lobe
  • Occipital lobe
  • Temporal lobe
• Frontal lobe


  Contains motor cortex, involved in emotion, planning, creativity, initiative
• Parietal lobe


  Contains somatosensory cortex, receives information about pressure, pain, touch, temperature
• Occipital lobe


  Contains visual cortex, receives and processes visual information
• Temporal lobe


  Involved in memory, perception, emotion, contains auditory cortex
• Specific brain areas are involved in certain mental disorders, e.g. frontal cortex and subcortical structures in OCD, areas associated with impulse control and emotional regulation in borderline personality disorder
• Psychodynamic perspective/theory


  Emphasizes unconscious psychological processes and contends that childhood experiences shape adult personality
• Core assumptions of psychodynamic perspective

  • Primacy of the unconscious
  • Critical importance of early experiences
  • Psychic causality
• Conscious mind


  Includes all the things we are aware of or can easily bring into awareness
• Unconscious mind


  Includes all the wishes, desires, hopes, urges, and memories that we aren't aware of, yet continue to influence behavior
• Components of human personality

  • Id
  • Ego
  • Superego
• Id


  Most primitive part of personality, source of basic urges
• Ego


  Deals with reality, ensures id's demands are satisfied in realistic, safe, socially acceptable ways
• Superego


  Holds internalized morals and standards acquired from parents, family, society
• Psychosexual stages

  • Oral stage
  • Anal stage
  • Phallic stage
  • Latent stage
  • Genital stage
• Fixation


  Over-dependence or obsession with something related to a particular stage of development
• Cognitive model


  Emphasizes the importance of cognitive abilities in understanding thoughts, behaviors, and emotions
• Maladaptive cognitions


  • Overgeneralizing
  • What if?
  • Blaming
  • Personalizing
  • Inability to disconfirm
  • Regret orientation
  • Dichotomous thinking