PSYCH 257 - Chapter 2: An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology

3 factors multidimensional integrative approach

1. biological

2. social

3. psychological

3 overlapping components

1. behaviour (freeze, escape, approach)

2. cognition (attritubutions or other ways of processing the world)

3. physiology (invovling primitive brain areas)

explicit memory

meories we can recall and describe in detail

ex. the exact details of the conversation you had with your friend last night.

blind sight/unconscious vision

in cases where people cant see anything, they sometimes can reach accuratley for objects and distinguish between them, doing things you would think they could only do with sight

prepared learning

evolutionarily, we are primed to learn certain things easier

ex. more likely to learn to fear snakes than flowers.

why? because survival in numbers, passing down genes, any storng dislike from being poisoned carries over pretty strongly adn the ones who stopped eating poisonous things are hte ones who survived.

social learning theory

said that much of what we learn depends on our interactions with other people around us. highlights improtance of social context in learning. people learn behaviours by imitating others.

ex. child watches parents say please and thank you, they do the same. not because someone told them to, but because thats what they observed.

martin seligman

• positive psychology

• work on learned helplessness

• promotes idea that fostering positive emotions and relationships leads to a more fulfilling life

• influential in therapy

do placebo effects actually influence brain function?

yes!

can psychosocial factors affect how neurotransmitters impact behaviour?

yes!, monkeys raised with less control over environment reactd to anxiety-inducing chemicals with fear, while those with more control reacted with aggression.

whats the brain-gut connection?

the gut can influence mental health through the production of molecules that communicate with the brain. this has a connection to depression and anxiety.

cerebral cortex

divided into 2 hemispheres, left nad right.

left —> verbal and cogntive processes

right —> perceiving the world, creating images

temporal lobe

hearing, memory, language

ex. understanding spoken language

ex. remembering past events

frontal lobe

decision-making, planning, movement

ex. helps you plan out your day.

autonomic nervous system

regulate cardiovascular system + endocrine system

split into two parts, sympathic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous systems

sympathetic —> fight or flight

parasympathetic —> rest and digest

endocrine system + hormone

endocrine glands produce hormones, which are chemical messengers, into blood stream

ex. adrenaline —> fight or flight

occpital lobe

vision, visual processing

ex. processes visual info from eyes, recognizing faces + objects

parietal lobe

touch, spatial awareness

ex. processing sensations like touch, helping you navigate environment (like a new campus)

what does the basal ganglia do?

motor control regulation

• ex. voluntary movements, intensity of movements, cognitive processes of decision making and reward processing (learning through reinforcement)

hypothalamus

regulates body functions

ex. temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep-awke cycle

what does the limbic system do?

helps regulate our emotional experiences, our ability to control our impulses

involved with the drives of sex, aggression, hunger, thirst

agonist

substances that increase the activity of a neurotransmitter by mimicking its effects.

ex. levodopa is a medication used to treat parkinson’s by increasing dopamine levels. it mimics dopamine and helps control movement.

ex. SSRI’s increase serotonin levels by blocking reuptake, enhancing availability of serotonin

affect

momentary emotinal tone that accompanies what we say or do

ex. A+ on test, your affect is happy, in reaction to the event.

what are biological influences?

• genetics

  • ex. genetic vulnerabilities to mental disorders

• neurobiology

  • ex. neurotransmitter imbalance

• endocrine system

  • ex. hormonal embalances (ex. thyroid —> mood disorders)

• effects of drugs

  • effects of psychoactive drugs

basically the roles of inherited biological factors/physiological influences

what are social influences?

• family systems

• relationships

• cultural factors (stigma, socio-economic status)

• they affect how a mental illness presents itself and how it is perceived.

what are psychological influences split into?

cognitive and emotional, and behavioural influences

what are emotional and cognitive influences?

• your emotional processing abilities (ex. extreme mood swings)

• cognitive distortions (rumination —> catastrophizing in anxiety)

emotional influences: how emotions play a role in how we experience the world, interact with others and cope with stress

cognitive influences: the thought processes we used to perceive, interpret, and respond to the world

what are behavioural influences?

• how learned behaviours and environmental factors shape our responses

• ex. an already conditioned response to react to a certain stimuli that way (ex. see a dog, scream)

developmental critical period

period(s) in our development we are more or less reactive to a given situation or influences than at other times.

ex. language acquisition from birth to 7 years old. children are particularly sensitive to learning language, and those who do not get to learn a langauge during this time struggle with language acquisition later in life

what is the genome?

complete set of genetic instructions

how many chromosomes do humans have

46, 23 from mother, 23 from father

autosomes

first 22 of the 23

they provide instructions for the development of the body and brain

sex chromosomes

determines individual’s biological sex

female: XX

male: XY

irregularities in this leads to ambiguous sexual characteristics

what is dna

• helical structure made up of 4 nucleotides

what are nucleotides

theres 4

1. adnenine

2. thymine

3. guanine

4. cytosine

what are the nucleotide base pairings

1. adenine and thymine

2. cytosine and guanine

what’s coding DNA

the dna sequence that defines a gene

what is transcription

process of copying DNA into RNA

genetic locus

specific location on a chromosome that codes for a gene

what are alleles

alternative forms of genes

• ex. B for brown eyes, b for blue eyes

• gene is for eye colour

phenotype

outward appearance of organism

ex. person has blue eyes

genotype

ex. bb (blue eyes is recessive allele, homozygous recessive)

each pair of alleles represents genotype

polymorphism

two or more different forms or phenotypes that occur naturally, not just mutations

ex. blood types (A, B, AB, O) (genetic polymorphism)

ex. light and dark forms of colour in animals (phenotypic polymorphism)

single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

variations of a single nuclotide in a genetic variation. c

its literally a genetic mutation that most of the time has 0 effect on health, but somtimes they are associated with an increased risk of developing mental health disorders, and can act as markers to help scientists locate genes associated with diseases

(ex. ACTGT —> ACTAT)

dominant allele

allele that strongly influences partiuclar trait, only need one for the trait to present in phenotypes (ex. Bb —> brown eyes even tho blue eyes allele is there)

recessive allele

must be paired with another recessive allele to present itself (ex. bb —> only with this (25% chance) can blue eyes show)

polygenic

influenced by many genes

ex. personality, cognitive skills

cant just pinpoint a single gene to tell us about something.

quantitative genetics

estimates effect of genes in explaining individual differences, without telling us which genes are responsible for it.

molecular genetics

examining actual structure and functioning of genes by using advanced tech

genome-wide association studies

studies that investigate entire genome to identify genetic variants associated with specifci traits or diseases

polygenic (risk) scores

numerical values that represent an individual’s genetic predisposition to a certain disease, in this case, psychological disorder, based on a cumulative effect of a bunch of SNPs.

they tell us how likely someone is to develop a particular condition

what 3 conclusions have behavioural geneticists reached in the past years on the role of genes and psychological disorders

1. genes are involved in the etiology of psychological disorders

2. the contributions of genes to psychological disorders comes from MANY genes, each having a small effect

3. interactions with events in the environment trigger genetic vulnerability or turn on specific genes

diathesis-stress model

individuals inherit tendencies to express certain traits or behaviours which may be triggered under certain conditions (ex. extreme stress)

diathesis

genetic vulnerability to developing a disorder

reciprocal gene-environment model

suggests that our genes shape the environments we experience and seek out.

ex. if you’re genetically predisposed to being shy, you might avoid soical situations or not talk much since youre there. and since u dont socialize, you might not make freinds, which makes you even shyer. the less you socialize the less practice you get, which makes you more shy. so your genetic predisposition to being shy shaped your unwillingness to talk to people, which then made you more shy.

how can reciprocal gene-environment model tell you if ur likely to get divorced?

well, some people are genetically predisposed to be short-tempered, which makes them hard to get along with. they seek out situations where they can pick fights a lot, or angers them a lot, or they just argue a lot, which makes them more likely to be divorced (im not entirely sure)

ex. of diathesis-stress model related to depression in transitioning to university

2 friends could be under the same amount of stress adjusting to university. but one friend develops major depressive disorder and the other is fine! why? because the friend who developed the disorder has a greater genetic vulnerability to develop the disorder.

the role of maltreatment in having children turn out to be violent and antisocial as adults

if theres a genetic predisposition associated with depression that contributes to violent and antisocial behaviour as adults, if the child is maltreated, this genetic vulnerability can be turned on or triggered.

explain the rat pup experiment using cross fostering in relation to the reciprocal gene-environment model

well, we have two mothers. one easily stressed out mother and one chill mother. they placed stressed out mother pups with chill mother, and chill mother raised them and vice versa. then wehn teh pups raised by chill mother birthed by strssed out mother grew up to be calmer!!

epigenetics

the phenomena of changes in gene activity that does not invovle changes to the dna sequences, just turning tenes on or off, affecting how cells read genes.

it explains how the environmetn or other factors influence which genes are erxpressed and which are not and how that affects your body and behaviour

what are types of epigenetic dna modifications?

1. methylation (addition of CH3 group)

2. hydroxymethylation (addition of CH2OH group)

neuroscience

knowing how the human nervous system works!!!

how does information go from one neuron to another

1. neurotransmitter and vesicles are formed

2. neurotransmitter is taken down the anxon

3. the neurotransmitter is released

4. the neurotransmitter interacts with the receptor, either creating an inhibitory or excitory reaction with the post-synaptic neuron

5. the neurotransmitter molecules are seperated from the receptors

6. some of the neurotransmitter is reabsorbed (reuptake)

7. the vesicles without the neurotransmitter are transported back to the cell body

excitory neurotransmitter

increase the likelihood the neuron will fire. this doesn’t mean the neuron WILL fire. neurons operate on an all-or-nothing response, this just increases the amount of positive charge in the neuron so the neuron is closer to firing.

inhibitory neurotransmitter

decrease the likelihood the neuron will fire. they make the inside of the connecting neuron more negatively charged.

parts of the hindbrain

1. medulla

2. pons

3. cerebellum (motor coordination)

what does the hindbrain do?

in charge of automatic activities necessary to survival

ex. breathing, heartbeat, digestion

what does the midbrain do and what does it contain?

1. integrates and processes sensory and motor information

2. reguleates arousal, consciousness, reflexes

3. essential for sensory input processing, movement coordination, and maintaining alertness

4. contains parts of the reticularly activating system (RAS) which is related to arousal (awake vs asleep)

thalamus

central relay station for sensory and motor signals

basically, processes info coming from body (either “this feels warm” or “arm move right”) and directs it to the appropriate part of the brain.

ex. visual signals (ex. I see a ball) goes to the visual cortex in the cerebral cortex

is not in charge of smell, because smell is such an old sense, evolutionarily, that it just goes straight to the limbic system! (think about how smelling a certain perfume takes u right back to 10th grade. the limbic system has the amygdala and the hippocampus, and these are linked to emotions and memoreis. this allows us to have rapid responses to smells)

parts of the limbic system

1. hippocampus

2. cingulate gyrus

3. septum

4. amygdala

antagonists

substances that block or reduce the action of a neurotransmitter, with the goal of inhibiting its effects

ex. antipsychotics block dopamine receptors, which are helpful in conditions where an excess of dopamine is harmful ex. schizophrenia

brain circuits

networks of neurons that work together to perform specific functions.

ex. motor circuits control movement. when you want to move your arm, a circuit in the motor cortex sends signals through spinal neurons to the muscles in your arm.

cognitive science

field on how we acquire and process info, and how we store and retrieve it.

ex. how are memories formed, stored, and retrieved? what types of memory exist?

CBT

aaron beck

integrated cognitive procedures and techniques into therapy, used for dealing with wrong attributions and attitudes associated with learned helplessness and depression.

ex. “im gonna fail cause im bad at math” —> “ive passed math tests before, ive studied hard, i can pass this”

diathesis-stress model

space

dopamine

implicated in schizophrenia, addiction, and ADHD. antipsychotic drugs reduce dopamine by blocking dopamine receptors.

emotion

tendency to behave in a certain way, elicited by an external event.

epigenetics

space

equifinality

principle used in dev psych to indicate that we must consider many paths to a given outcome.

ex. a particular behaviour may have several causes

ex. delusional syndrome, can be schizophrenia but can also come from meth abuse

ex. delirum, can involve difficulty focusing attention, but it can also result from renale disease

excitatory

increase the likelihood the neuron will fire

fight-or-flight response

when scared, sympathetic nervous system is activate

your heart beats faster increasing flow of blood to the muscles.

you breathe heavier getting more oxygen to your brain.

the point is to mobilize your body in times of stress and danger (ex. a bear is chasing you or you’re walking home late at night)

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter

role is to inhibit the transmission of information and action potentials

works with glutamate to balnace functioning in the brain

it helps reduce anxiety, promote relaxation, and prevent overstimulation.

gene-environment correlation model

space

genes

space

glutamate

promotes firing of neurons, excitatory neurotransmitter

important in learning, memory, and overall brain function.

hormone

chemicals that coordinate different functions by carrying messages through the body!! thyere messengers!!

implicit cognition

unobservable, unconscious processes

ex. stroop colour naming paradigm (colour names + colour of the word are switched up)

colour naming is delayed when meaning of the word attractions attention, and because of this, psyhcologists can uncover pattenrs of emotinal significance even if the subject cannot verbalize or isnt aware of them.

implicit memory

memory when someone acts based on things that happeneed in the past but cant remember the events

ex. typing on a keyboard. it just happens, we just know how to do it, but we weren’t born with it, we did learn it.

ex. riding a bike. can pick it up after years without having to relearn it.

inverse agonists

type of substance that binds to the same receptor as an agonist, but produces the OPPOSITE effect. it reduces the receptor’s activity below its baseline level.

agonist: increases activity

antagonist: blocks activity

inverse agonist: decreases activity

learned helplessness

a person learned to feel powerless in a situation because they have repeatedly experienced failure or lack of contorl, even when they do have the ability to change the outcome.

modelling

albert bandura. also called observational learning.

you can learn just as much by observing what happens to someone else in a given situation

mood

persistent period of affect or emotionality

norepinephrine

part of the endocrine system

controls basic bodily functions, influences emergency reactions, has relationships with states of panic, but it does act in a general way to regulate behavioural tendencies and is not specialized in any way

neurotransmitters

the chemicals that transmit the impulse to the receptors of the connecting neuron

ex.

1. norepinephine

2. serotonin

3. glutamate

4. GABA

5. dopamine

observational learning

prepraed learning

space

reuptake

after a neurotransmitter is relesaed, its drawn back into the synpatic cleft into the smae neuron. that process is called reuptake. some drugs block reuptake so the brain circuit stays simulated.

serotonin

regulates behaviour, moods and thought proceses

low levels —> impulsivity, instability, overreaction

high levels —> high bp, sweating, agitation, rapid heart rate (think somenes like wayy too happy, like amplify those symptoms)

synpatic cleft

space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of another (connecting spot essentially for neurotransmitters to transmit)

vulnerability

likelihood of developing a disorder