Lecture 2 + Readings Flashcards
Problems with current classification systems
- a lot of overlap between different disorders
- no consistent pattern of alterations within diagnostic criteria (high heterogeneity - 2 people suffering from depression have TOTALLY different behavioural profiles)
- new neuroscience/genetic data does not map well with current disorder categories
- no single test can diagnose
- no single treatment works
What is the dimensional approach?
Reading: Adam
- instead of categories we make dimensional models of mental disorders
- difficult to use, but useful
- mental health conditions lie on a spectrum - partly overlapping symptoms AND causes.
RDoC
Research Domain Criteria
- Research framework (not replacing DSM)
- Initiative of the National Institutes of Health (US)
- Goals/Assumptions
- Develop diagnostic approach based on biology as well as the symptoms
- Mental disorders are biological involving brain circuits
- Dimensional (normal….abnormal)
- Mapping cognitive, circuit, and genetic aspects of mental disorders will yield new and better targets for treatment
- Has different levels of analysis
- Summary: goal is to understand the dimensions of psychiatric disorders
Who uses diagnostic manuals?
- Researchers; categorize people for study
- Clinicians; for better treatment
- Pharmaceutical industry; to know which drugs to administer
- Legal services; insurance purposes, or law
- General public; curious people
What do we use to asses mental disorders
Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS)
Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH)
Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS)
**Structured Clinical Interview for DSM 5 (SCID)
How to measure aspects of mental health
Behavioural observation
Thoughts
Physiological (ex: blood pressure, weight changes, brain measures, etc.)
Instruments to measure aspects of mental health
- Interviews
- Self-report questionnaires
- Observations
- Ecological momentary assessments (assessments that people are doing in real life – ex: assessment that people have to indicate at a random time in the day about how they think or feel at that moment OR how much stress they are experiencing at that random moment)
- Laboratory measures
Common depression/anxiety self-report symptom lists (questionnaires) include
- Beck depression inventory**
- Eysenck personality questionnaire
- Symptoms checklist
- Spielberger anxiety scale
- Center for epidemiological studies-depression
Common interviews (symptoms)
- Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
- Montgomery Asberg Rating Scale for depression
- Young Mania Rating scale
Advantages and disadvantages of self-report
Disadvantage: understanding vaires, bias in memory
advantage: cheap, easy to administer, allows reflection
Recent Trends
integration of biological and cognitive theories
