337 - Intro to psychopathology

Def: Agoraphobia

an anxiety disorder by fear of avoiding “unsafe” spaces where one might have trouble finding help

______ disorder can cause agoraphobia

Panic

Def: Panic attack

person experiences a sudden outburst of profound fear or discomfort that rises and peaks within minutes

Panic disorder is more common in…

women

In the panic disorder case study, Joe’s onset was at 76yo which is…

an abnormal age of onset

Panic disorder onset is most common b/n…

20-24yo

What is the biological reason why ppl develop a panic disorder?

Panic disorder is kind of like a false alarm in the fight-or-flight system

What is the cognitive reason why ppl develop a panic disorder?

anxious thoughts feed off the sympathetic nervous system to trigger a panic attack

____% of those who receive CBT for panic disorder overcome it

83

In the panic disorder case study, Joe has many feelings of opening the plane door and apartment window, this is associated with…

the fight-or-flight response

Def. etiology

the cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition

Def. manner of causation

how the cause actually leads to the outcome (the process)

Ex. A virus enters your body —> infects cells —> your immune system reacts —> you feel sick

This is an example of a…

manner of causation

T/F: Psychopathology always causes personal distress to the one afffected

False, could be about the distress they’re causing to others

Why is it important for us to define psychopathology into what it is and what it isn’t if it’s so controversial?

Because psychological contrasts are measured indirectly, so we need to at least define it in order to treat it

Who was Thomas Sydenham?

Among the first to define the concept of syndromes

Def: syndrome

a cluster of symptoms that tend to occur together

Def: disease

a condition with a known, specific cause

Def: disorder

a condition involving impaired functioning, often without a single clear cause

Who was Emil Kraepelin?

Applied Sydenham’s concept of syndromes to mental health

Who was among the first to say that mental illnesses are taxonic?

Emil Kraepelin

Def: Taxonic

means a mental disorder is a distinct category — you either have it or you don’t (like an on/off switch)

To say that a mental disorder is not on a spectrum means it’s…

taxonic

Def: multifactorial

a disorder is caused by many different factors

Def: multiply determined

the same disorder can come from different combinations of causes

Def: dysfunction — In terms of Wakefield’s definition

an organ system performing contrary to its design but NOT at the peak of its design

Thanks to Wakefield, we define mental illness as…

harmful dysfunction

Why do we emphasize in Wakefield’s definition of dysfunction as “not at the peak of its design”?

Abnormal excellence

T/F: Psychopathology doesn’t have to cause harm

False

Why was homosexuality discredited as a form of psychopathology?

Because it didn’t cause harm to anyone

Def: inclusion criteria

symptoms you need to have to get a diagnosis

Def: exclusion criteria

reasons you can’t get the diagnosis (even if you have the symptoms)

Def: nosology

the classification and naming of diseases of disorders

Which model of the DSM did psychiatrists switch from making diagnosis off symptoms rather than life history?

DSM-3

Even though most experts don’t agree, why is gender dysphoria still in the DSM as a form of psychopathology?

So ppl could get gender affirming surgery

Def: etiology (of psychopathology and mental disorders)

trying to understand how and why people become ill overtime

Ex. A parent is very anxious and overprotective. The child is also anxious. We can credit this to…

Either but we can’t know for sure

What does it mean that most psychopathology is heritable?

Most mental disorders are partly influenced by generics (they can be passed down), but are not caused by genes alone

Why is it interesting that PTSD is heritable?

Because it requires trauma, yet genes may still influence exposure and response

What is a truly important thing to note about genetics in life but specifically in psychopathology?

Genes aren’t deterministic, they’re probabilistic