Week 11 | Day 2 | PSYA02

Week 11 | Day 2 | PSYA02

*Finishing off from 2 lectures ago (last lecture was guest speaker)

Anti-Depressant Medication

• Anti-depressants also discovered somewhat accidentally
• Three major classes of Anti-Depressants

1. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
   • Used to treat tuberculosis in the 1950s, coincidentally elevated patients mood
     • Prevented breakdown of serotonin and dopamine
     • Prescribed as a last resort because they have dangerous food and drug interactions

• Most anti-depressant medications today are reuptake inhibitors
  • Prevent neurotransmitters from being taken back up
  • Increase concentration of these neurotransmitters in the synaptic space
  • Reuptake inhibitors can work on many neurotransmitters or just one

1. Tricyclic Anti Depressants
   • First widely accepted medication for treating depression for years
     • Serotonin and Norepinephrine (SNRIs)
2. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
   • Most commonly prescribed anti-depressants today
     • Serotonin only (SSRIs

Other Physiological Interventions

• Electroconvulsuce Therapy (ECT)
  • Induces controlled seizures
  • Highly effective and safe (in modern times)
  • Not permanent (needs to be repeated often)
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
  • Produces longer-lasting changes to brain chemistry)
• Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
  • Embedded electrodes produce repetitive brain stimulation

— New Lecture —

What Is Stress?

Stress: physical and psychological responses to internal/external stressors

Stressors: internal/external circumstances and/or stimuli that represent a perceived potential for harm, loss, damage, challenge, or other deviation from a balanced state

Good vs Bad Stress

• Hans Selye: “Father of Stress Research” and coined the term stress
• Types of stressors:
  • Eustress: reaction to good stress
  • Distress: reaction to bad stress