Chapter 16- Psychological Disorders NotesII. Mood Disorders3. Explaining Mood DisordersMust explain the following:

Behavioral and cognitive changes that accompany depression. Depression is widespread. Gender difference: women are twice as vulnerable to major depression, even more so if they have been

depressed before. In general, women are most vulnerable to passive disorders—internalized states, such as depression, anxiety, and inhibited sexual desire. Men’s disorders are more active—alcohol abuse, antisocial conduct, lack of impulse control.

Most major depressive episodes self-terminate. Therapy can speed recovery, yet most people suffering major depression return to normal without professional help.

Stressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships often precede depression. Dramatic increases in depression worldwide (and anxiety disorders). Depression peaks at 18-24 years then declines with age.

The Biological Perspective Genetic influences- twin studies. Linkage analysis - find families that have had the disorder across several generations. Then they draw

blood from both affected and unaffected family members and examine their DNA looking for differences. Linkage analysis points us to a chromosome neighborhood.

Association studies - search for correlations between more specific DNA variation and a population trait.The Depressed Brain

Norepinephrine (arousal) overabundant during mania and scarce during depression; depressed people smoke – increases norephinephrine.

Serotonin scare during depression; PET scans – less activity in frontal lobes which, along with hippocampus, shrink with depression.

Drugs that alleviate mania reduce norepinephrine; drugs that relieve depression tend to increase norepinephrine or serotonin by blocking either their reuptake (as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil do with serotonin) or their chemical breakdown.

Repetitive physical exercise, such as jogging, reduces depression by increasing serotonin levels. Omega 3- fatty acid (“good”; found in fish) enhances brain function= less depression.

The Social-Cognitive Perspective Negative thoughts influence biochemical events that amplify depressing thoughts; self defeating beliefs

arise from learned helplessness. Hopelessness is the result of pessimistic, overgeneralized, self-blaming attributions. The rise in

individualism in the US may contribute to rise in hopelessness and depression – fosters self-blame for personal failure.

State-dependent memory: depressed mood triggers negative thoughts. Depression’s vicious cycle: preexisting pessimism encountering failure. Failure leads to brooding which

can be adaptive (gain insights during times of depressed inactivity that can later lead to more effective strategies for interacting with the world).

But depression-prone people respond to bad events in especially self-focused, self blaming ways. Gender difference in emotional memory may explain higher rates of depression in women.

(1) Negative, stressful events interpreted through (2) a ruminating, pessimistic explanatory style create (3) a hopeless, depressed state that (4) hampers the way the person thinks and acts. This, in turn, fuels (1) more negative experiences.

IV. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia - a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking,

disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.

1. Symptoms of Schizophrenia Delusions - false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders. Breakdown of selective attention (like cocktail-party effect)= word salad/ jumping thoughts. Hallucinations - sensory experiences without sensory stimulation. Usually auditory. Flat affect - a zombielike state of apparent apathy. Catatonic schizophrenia : a form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed

stuporous state for long periods; the catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme excitement.2. Subtypes of Schizophrenia

Positive symptoms: Hallucinations, disorganized and deluded talk, inappropriate affect (laughter, tears, or rage); presence of inappropriate behaviors.

Negative symptoms: Toneless voices, expressionless faces, or mute and rigid bodies; absence of appropriate behaviors.

Because schizophrenia is more than one disorder, these varied symptoms could have more than one cause; sudden (acute, reactive) or gradual (chronic, process) onset in early adulthood.

Better prognosis if positive symptom and acute (sudden onset). Paranoid: Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or

grandiosity. Disorganized: Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion. Catatonic: Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike

repeating of another's speech or movements. Undifferentiated: Many and varied symptoms. Residual: Withdrawal, after hallucination and delusions have disappeared.

3. Understanding Schizophrenia Brain abnormalities : Dopamine over-reactivity (excess D4 dopamine receptors); dopamine blockers help

positive but not negative symptom schizophrenics, which may be due to glutamate inhibition (a neurotransmitter that facilitates neural impulses).

Anatomy : Brain abnormalities in schizophrenics; enlarged fluid-filled sacs and decreased cortex and thalamus (which filters sensory input); multiple areas involved; low birth weight and birth complications. Low brain activity in frontal lobes. Decline in brain waves that reflect synchronized neural firing. Thalamus reactive during hallucinations. Increased activity in amygdala.

Maternal Virus during Midpregnancy : Viruses in the mother’s body can cause fetal damage and cause the baby to develop schizophrenia.

Genetic factors : High heritability: 1:100 general pop 1:10 if parent, 1:2 for ID twin. Identical twin studies indicate that it may still be a shared virus (twins who share a placenta more likely to both develop the disease than twins who don’t). Multiple genes are likely to be involved that predispose schizophrenic brain abnormalities. Some code for proteins that breakdown dopamine. Other makes the myelin sheath. Genetic predisposition to the disorder but development depends on other factors—prenatal viral infections, nutritional and oxygen deprivation.

Psychological factors : Possible early warning signs include: mother whose schizophrenia was severe and long-lasting, separation from parents, disruptive and withdrawn behavior, emotional unpredictability, etc.

V. Personality Disorders Personality disorder - psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns

that impair social functioning. Avoidant personality disorder : Cluster of disorders that express anxiety, such as a fearful sensitivity to

rejection that predisposes withdrawal. Schizoid personality disorder : Cluster of disorders that express eccentric behaviors, such as the social

disengagement. Histrionic personality disorder : Cluster of disorders that exhibit dramatic or impulsive behaviors;

displays shallow, attention-getting emotions and goes to great lengths to gain others’ praise and reassurance.

Narcissistic personality disorder : Exaggerate self-importance, success fantasies; can’t accept criticism - react with rage or shame.

Borderline personality disorder : Unstable identity, unstable relationships, and unstable emotions. Unstable sense of self.

1. Antisocial Personality Disorder Antisocial personality disorder : The person (usually a male) exhibits a lack of conscience for

wrongdoing (even toward family and friends); aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist (note that most criminals have a conscience with regard to family and friends).

2. Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder Genetic vulnerability appears as a fearless approach to life. Lower levels of arousal and stress hormones.

As young as 3 to 6, impulsive, uninhibited, unconcerned with social rewards, and low in anxiety. Reduced frontal lobe activity (planning and impulse control). Biological as well as environmental influences explain why 5 to 6 percent of offenders commit 50 to 60 percent of crimes. Sociocultural factors needed to explain the modern epidemic of violence.

VI. Rates of Psychological Disorders 1 in 7 Americans had suffered clinically significant mental disorder in 2001. 1 in 6 in Britain. Australian government survey of 10, 600 adults= 1 in 6 have mental disorder. Study of 4500 children

and adolescents= 1 in 7 have mental health problems. 1 in 6 people have a disorder; risk is 2X greater among the poor; most disorder show up by early

adulthood Females higher in depression and anxiety; males higher in alcohol abuse and antisocial personality. Phobias and alcohol abuse are the most prevalent disorders Antisocial personality disorder and phobias= mean age of 8 to 10. Alcohol abuse, OCD, Bipolar, schizophrenia= median age of 20. Major depression= median age of 25.

Vocab1. ADHD: a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms:

extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.2. Antisocial Personality Disorder: a personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of

conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

3. Anxiety Disorders: psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

4. Bipolar Disorder: a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

5. Delusions: false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.6. DID: rare and controversial dissociative disorder in which an individual experiences two or more distinct and

alternating personalities.7. Dissociative Disorders: disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous

memories, thoughts, and feelings.8. DSM-IV: the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth

Edition), a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders. Presently distributed in an updated "text revision".

9. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

10. Major Depressive Disorder: a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminishes interest or pleasure in most activities.

11. Mania: a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.

12. Medical Model: the concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured. When applied to psychological disorders, the medical model assumes that these mental illnesses can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy, which may include treatment in a psychiatric hospital.

13. Mood Disorders: psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.14. OCD: an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and/or actions.15. Panic Disorder: an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which

a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.16. Personality Disorders: psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that

impair social functioning.17. Phobia: an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or

situation.18. Post Traumatic Disorder (PTSD): an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares,

social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

19. Psychological Disorder: deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional behavior patterns.20. Schizophrenia: a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed

perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.

The Prevalence of mental disorders in 2003