Ch 12 review

• Agoraphobia: Anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear, anxiety, and avoidance of situations in which it might be difficult to escape if one experiences symptoms of a panic attack.

• Antisocial Personality Disorder: Characterized by a lack of regard for others’ rights, impulsivity, deceitfulness, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse over misdeeds.

• Anxiety Disorder: Characterized by excessive and persistent fear and anxiety, and related disturbances in behavior.

• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Childhood disorder characterized by inattentiveness and/or hyperactive, impulsive behavior.

• Atypical: Describes behaviors or feelings that deviate from the norm.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Childhood disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication, and repetitive patterns of behavior or interests.

• Bipolar and Related Disorders: Group of mood disorders in which mania is the defining feature.

• Bipolar Disorder: Mood disorder characterized by mood states that vacillate between depression and mania.

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Involves excessive preoccupation with an imagined defect in physical appearance.

• Borderline Personality Disorder: Instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood, as well as impulsivity; key features include intolerance of being alone, fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, unpredictable behavior and moods, and intense and inappropriate anger.

• Catatonic Behavior: Decreased reactivity to the environment; includes posturing and catatonic stupor.

• Comorbidity: Co-occurrence of two disorders in the same individual.

• Delusion: Belief that is contrary to reality and is firmly held, despite contradictory evidence.

• Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder: Dissociative disorder in which people feel detached from the self (depersonalization), and the world feels artificial and unreal (derealization).

• Depressive Disorder: Group of mood disorders in which depression is the defining feature.

• Diagnosis: Determination of which disorder a set of symptoms represents.

• DSM-5: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; authoritative index of mental disorders and the criteria for their diagnosis; published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

• Diathesis-Stress Model: Suggests that people with a predisposition for a disorder (a diathesis) are more likely to develop the disorder when faced with stress; model of psychopathology.

• Disorganized Thinking: Disjointed and incoherent thought processes, usually detected by what a person says.

• Disorganized/Abnormal Motor Behavior: Highly unusual behaviors and movements (such as child-like behaviors), repeated and purposeless movements, and displaying odd facial expressions and gestures.

• Dissociative Amnesia: Dissociative disorder characterized by an inability to recall important personal information, usually following an extremely stressful or traumatic experience.

• Dissociative Disorders: Group of DSM-5 disorders in which a person becomes dissociated or split off from their core sense of self, resulting in disturbances in identity and memory.

• Dissociative Fugue: Symptom of dissociative amnesia in which a person suddenly wanders away from home and experiences confusion about their identity.

• Dissociative Identity Disorder: Dissociative disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) in which a person exhibits two or more distinct, well-defined personalities or identities and experiences memory gaps for the time during which another identity emerged.

• Dopamine Hypothesis: Theory of schizophrenia proposing that an overabundance of dopamine or dopamine receptors is responsible for the onset and maintenance of schizophrenia.

• Etiology: Cause or causes of a psychological disorder.

• Flashback: Psychological state lasting from a few seconds to several days, during which one relives a traumatic event and behaves as though the event were occurring at that moment.

• Flight of Ideas: Symptom of mania involving an abruptly switching in conversation from one topic to another.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Characterized by a continuous state of excessive, uncontrollable, and pointless worry and apprehension.

• Grandiose Delusion: Characterized by beliefs that one holds special power, unique knowledge, or is extremely important.

• Hallucination: Perceptual experience occurring in the absence of external stimulation, such as auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) common to schizophrenia.

• Harmful Dysfunction: Model of psychological disorders resulting from the inability of an internal mechanism to perform its natural function.

• Hoarding Disorder: Characterized by persistent difficulty in parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value or usefulness.

• Hopelessness Theory: Cognitive theory of depression proposing that a thinking style perceiving negative life events as having stable and global causes leads to hopelessness and depression.

• International Classification of Diseases (ICD): Authoritative index of mental and physical diseases, including infectious diseases, and the criteria for their diagnosis; published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

• Locus Coeruleus: Area of the brainstem that contains norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response; implicated in panic disorder.

• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Commonly referred to as “depression” or “major depression”; characterized by sadness or loss of pleasure in usual activities, among other symptoms.

• Mania: State of extreme elation and agitation.

• Manic Episode: Period of mania, characterized by extremely cheerful and euphoric mood, excessive talkativeness, irritability, increased activity levels, and other symptoms.

• Mood Disorder: Group of disorders characterized by severe disturbances in mood and emotions; DSM-5 categories include bipolar and related disorders and depressive disorders.

• Negative Symptom: Characterized by decreases and absences in certain normal behaviors, emotions, or drives (e.g., expressionless face, lack of motivation, reduced speech, lack of social engagement, inability to experience pleasure).

• Neurodevelopmental Disorder: Disorders first diagnosed in childhood, involving developmental problems in academic, intellectual, and social functioning.

• Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders: Group of overlapping DSM-5 disorders involving intrusive, unpleasant thoughts and/or repetitive behaviors.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Characterized by the tendency to experience intrusive and unwanted thoughts and urges (obsessions) and/or engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) in response.

• Orbitofrontal Cortex: Area of the frontal lobe involved in learning and decision-making.

• Panic Attack: Period of extreme fear or discomfort developing abruptly; symptoms are both physiological and psychological.

• Panic Disorder: Anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected panic attacks, along with at least one month of worry about panic attacks or self-defeating behavior related to the attacks.

• Paranoid Delusion: Characterized by beliefs that others are out to harm them.

• Peripartum Onset: Subtype of depression applying to women who experience an episode of major depression either during pregnancy or in the four weeks following childbirth.

• Persistent Depressive Disorder: Depressive disorder characterized by a chronically sad and melancholy mood.

• Personality Disorder: Group of DSM-5 disorders characterized by an inflexible and pervasive personality style differing markedly from cultural expectations, causing distress and impairment; people with these disorders often experience conflict and have difficulty forming social relationships.

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Triggered by a traumatic event, resulting in intrusive, distressing memories of the event, avoidance of related stimuli, negative emotional states, detachment, irritability, outbursts, hypervigilance, and startle response; symptoms must persist for at least one month.

• Prodromal Symptom: Early minor symptom of psychosis, often associated with schizophrenia.

• Psychological Disorder: Condition characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

• Psychopathology: Study of psychological disorders, including symptoms, causes, and treatment; manifestation of a psychological disorder.

• Rumination: In depression, the tendency to repetitively dwell on one’s depressive symptoms, meanings, and consequences.

• Safety Behavior: Mental and behavioral acts designed to reduce anxiety in social situations by minimizing the chance of negative social outcomes; common in social anxiety disorder.

• Schizophrenia: Severe disorder characterized by major disturbances in thought, perception, emotion, and behavior, with symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and negative symptoms.

• Seasonal Pattern: Subtype of depression where symptoms occur only during a particular time of year.

• Social Anxiety Disorder: Characterized by extreme and persistent fear or anxiety in social situations where negative evaluation is possible.

• Somatic Delusion: Belief that something highly unusual is happening to one’s body or internal organs.

• Specific Phobia: Anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, distressing, and persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation.

• Suicidal Ideation: Thoughts of death by suicide, including thinking about, planning, or attempting suicide.

• Suicide: Death caused by intentional, self-directed injurious behavior.

• Supernatural: Describes a force beyond scientific understanding.

• Ventricle: One of the fluid-filled cavities within the brain.

1. What is abnormal behavior?

• Abnormal behavior refers to behavior that is atypical, dysfunctional, distressing, and deviant, differing from societal norms. It often disrupts everyday functioning and may be harmful to oneself or others.

2. How do we diagnose disorders? What is the DSM-5?

• DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) is a comprehensive classification tool published by the American Psychiatric Association used to diagnose mental disorders.

• Diagnosing involves assessing symptoms and determining if they meet the criteria for a specific disorder based on DSM-5 standards.

3. What is the diathesis-stress model?

• The diathesis-stress model suggests that mental disorders result from the interaction of genetic predisposition (diathesis) and environmental stressors. People with a vulnerability to a disorder are more likely to develop it when exposed to stress.

4. Symptoms of Specific Disorders

a. Anxiety Disorders

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Excessive, uncontrollable worry about various topics; includes physical symptoms like restlessness and fatigue.

• Panic Disorder vs. Panic Attack:

• Panic Attack: Sudden onset of intense fear or discomfort with symptoms like heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness.

• Panic Disorder: Recurrent panic attacks with persistent worry about future attacks or behavior changes to avoid them.

• Phobias: Intense fear of specific objects, situations, or activities, leading to avoidance.

• Agoraphobia: Fear of situations where escape might be difficult; often includes avoiding places where one feels trapped.

• Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Disorder: Extreme fear of social situations due to worry about negative evaluation.

• OCD and Related Disorders:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions).

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Preoccupation with perceived flaws in physical appearance.

• Hoarding Disorder: Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value.

• PTSD: Triggered by a traumatic event; includes flashbacks, avoidance, negative changes in mood, and hypervigilance.

b. Mood Disorders

• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Characterized by persistent sadness or loss of interest in activities; includes changes in appetite, sleep, energy, and concentration.

• Seasonal Pattern: Depression occurring during specific seasons (often winter).

• Peripartum Onset: Depression occurring during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth.

• Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): Chronic form of depression with a generally low mood lasting for two years or more.

• Bipolar Disorder: Involves mood swings between manic (high energy and mood) and depressive episodes.

• Cyclothymic Disorder: Mild form of bipolar disorder with fluctuating mood swings over a long period but not meeting criteria for full manic or depressive episodes.

c. Personality Disorders

• Paranoid Personality Disorder: Persistent mistrust and suspicion of others without sufficient reason.

• Antisocial Personality Disorder: Disregard for the rights of others; includes deceitfulness, impulsivity, and lack of remorse.

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

• Borderline Personality Disorder: Instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions; fear of abandonment, impulsivity, and intense anger.

d. Dissociative Disorders

• Dissociative Amnesia: Inability to recall important personal information, typically following trauma.

• Dissociative Fugue: Sudden travel or wandering away with amnesia about one’s identity or past.

• Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID): Presence of two or more distinct identities within a person, with memory gaps for each identity.

e. Schizophrenia

• Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and speech, and negative symptoms like lack of emotion or social withdrawal.

5. Causes/Explanations for Disorders

• Biological Factors: Genetics, brain structure abnormalities, and neurotransmitter imbalances (e.g., dopamine in schizophrenia, serotonin in depression).

• Environmental Factors: Traumatic events, chronic stress, or negative life experiences can trigger or worsen symptoms.

• Cognitive Factors: Negative thought patterns, such as rumination in depression, or distorted perceptions in anxiety.

• Social/Cultural Factors: Stigma, social isolation, and lack of support may contribute to disorders, especially mood and anxiety disorders.

6. Neurotransmitters Involved in Disorders

• Serotonin: Associated with depression and anxiety; low levels are linked to mood disorders.

• Dopamine: Implicated in schizophrenia (overactivity) and in mood disorders (underactivity in depression, excess during manic episodes).

• Norepinephrine: Related to stress response; imbalance can affect mood disorders and anxiety.

• GABA: Reduced activity is linked to anxiety disorders.

• Glutamate: Possible role in mood disorders and schizophrenia.

Module 12: Psychological Disorders

1. What is abnormal behavior?

Abnormal behavior is behavior that deviates from societal norms, causes dysfunction in daily life, results in significant distress, and may pose a danger to oneself or others.

2. How do we diagnose disorders? What is the DSM-5?

Disorders are diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). This manual provides standardized criteria for mental health professionals to identify and classify psychological disorders.

3. What is the diathesis-stress model?

The diathesis-stress model suggests that psychological disorders develop due to a combination of genetic predispositions (diathesis) and environmental stressors. A disorder manifests when stress exceeds the individual’s ability to cope.

4. Symptoms of Specific Disorders:

• Anxiety Disorders:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Persistent, excessive worry about various topics, often accompanied by restlessness, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.

• Panic Disorder: Characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and fear of future attacks.

• Phobias: Intense and irrational fear of specific objects or situations, leading to avoidance behavior.

• Agoraphobia: Fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable, often leading to avoidance of open spaces or crowded places.

• Social Anxiety Disorder: Fear of social situations due to worry about being judged, embarrassed, or humiliated.

• Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders:

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Preoccupation with perceived flaws in physical appearance, often minor or unobservable to others.

• Hoarding Disorder: Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value, leading to cluttered living spaces.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Presence of intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) aimed at reducing anxiety.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Develops after exposure to a traumatic event, with symptoms including intrusive memories, avoidance of reminders, negative changes in mood, and heightened arousal.

• Mood Disorders:

• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Persistent sadness, loss of interest, fatigue, and other symptoms that impair functioning.

• Seasonal Pattern: Depression occurring during specific times of the year, typically winter.

• Peripartum Onset: Depression occurring during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth.

• Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): Chronic low mood lasting two years or more, with milder symptoms than MDD.

• Bipolar Disorder: Characterized by mood swings between depressive episodes and manic episodes.

• Cyclothymic Disorder: Milder, chronic mood swings not meeting full criteria for bipolar disorder.

• Personality Disorders:

• Paranoid Personality Disorder: Pervasive distrust and suspicion of others.

• Antisocial Personality Disorder: Disregard for others’ rights, impulsivity, deceitfulness, and lack of remorse.

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

• Borderline Personality Disorder: Instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions, often with impulsive behaviors and fear of abandonment.

• Dissociative Disorders:

• Dissociative Amnesia: Inability to recall important personal information, usually related to trauma.

• Dissociative Fugue: Sudden, unexpected travel away from home with amnesia about one’s identity or past.

• Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID): Presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states within one individual.

• Schizophrenia: Severe disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, abnormal motor behavior, and negative symptoms such as reduced emotional expression.

5. What are the causes/explanations for each of these disorders?

• Biological Factors: Genetic predispositions, brain structure and function abnormalities, and neurotransmitter imbalances.

• Psychological Factors: Cognitive patterns (e.g., negative thinking), traumatic experiences, and maladaptive coping strategies.

• Sociocultural Factors: Cultural norms, family dynamics, and societal pressures.

• Environmental Factors: Stressful life events, abuse, and substance use.

6. Which neurotransmitters are involved in the different disorders?

• Anxiety Disorders: Low GABA, serotonin dysregulation.

• Mood Disorders: Low serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

• Bipolar Disorder: Dysregulated dopamine and glutamate.

• Schizophrenia: Excess dopamine, glutamate abnormalities.

• PTSD: Dysregulation of serotonin and norepinephrine.

• OCD: Serotonin dysfunction.