Biological Approach

Question 1

What are the three assumptions of the biological approach?

Answer 1

• Behaviour can be explained by neurotransmitters
• Behaviour can be explained by localisation of brain function
• Behaviour can be explained by evolutionary influences

Question 2

What are neurotransmitters and give two examples

Answer 2

Neurotransmitters are chemical messegers, which carry chemical signals from one neuron to another via synaptic transmission
Examples=Serotonin and dopamine

Question 3

What is a synapse?

Answer 3

Gap between neurons where chemicals can diffuse across. The gap occurs between the axon of the pre-neuron and the dendtrites of the post-neuron

Question 4

What is the role of the axon and the dendrites?

Answer 4

Axon=carry the impulse away
Dendrites=carry impulses to the next neuron

Question 5

How are neurotransmitters and mental health related and give two examples

Answer 5

Different neurotransmitters have different effects on our behaviour
* Serotonin~linked to regulation of mood,sleep and appetite=too little can lead to depression
* Dopamine~linked to pleasure,satisfaction and motivation=associated with symptoms of schizophrenia

Question 6

What are the four lobes of the brain and give their roles

Answer 6

• Frontal=thinking and creativity,language production (Broca’s area),motor area
• Parietal=sensory information e.g touch and pain
• Occipital=visual information and processing
• Temporal=auditory information e.g speech comprehension and memory

Question 7

What would an injury to the frontal lobe lead to?

Answer 7

Loss of fine motor skills (grasp)-changes to personality , broca’s aphrasia (trouble producing speach

Question 8

What case study supports that behaviour can be explained by localisation of brain function with description

Answer 8

Phineas Gage
Personality altered greatly following damage to the frontal lobe

Question 9

What does evolutionary psychology suggest?

Answer 9

Human behaviour is a result of evolutionary processes, such as ‘survival of the fitttest’

Question 10

What are adpative behavioural traits with an example?

Answer 10

Genetically determined behaviour which will increase chance of survival
Fear of the dark (nyctophobia)=humans were likely to be hunted by other predators in the dark~this lead to humans’ fight or flight response to be on high alert during the night

Question 11

What’s the therapy for the biological approach?

Answer 11

Drug Therapy

Question 12

What are the components of drug therapy?

Answer 12

• Antipsychotic drugs
• Antidepressant drugs
• Antianxiety drugs

Question 13

Give examples of each type

What are the two types of antipsychotic drigs and how do they work?

Answer 13

Conventional (haldol) and Atypical (clorazil)
Reuce the amount of dopamine produced in the brain, dopamine is linked to pleasure, this is done by binding to dopamine receptors C~permanent and A~temporary

Question 14

What are the side effects of antipsychotic drugs?

Answer 14

• Sleepiness
• Emotional effects
• Tardive dyskinesia

Question 15

Give an example

How do antidepressant drugs work?

Answer 15

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Prozac)
These work by blocking the transport mechanis, that reabsorbs serotonin into the presynoptic cell=More serotonin available to excite the neurons

Question 16

What are the side effects of antidepressant drugs?

Answer 16

• Drowsiness
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Worsening of symptoms

Question 17

What are the types of antianxiety drugs and how do they work?

Answer 17

Benzodiazepines (diazapem)~Slows activty of CNS this is done by enhancing the activty of GABA (relievs stress)
Beta Blockers (sotalol)~binds to receptors on cells on the areas of the body that becomes aroused e.g. heart

Question 18

What are the side effects of antianxiety drugs?

Answer 18

• Drowsiness
• Light-headedness
• Confusion

Question 19

What are the effectivenss strengths and limitations of drug therapy?

Answer 19

Research support, Comparison to other therapies and side effects

Question 20

What is the research support for drug therapy?

Answer 20

Kahn (1986): Followed patients for 8 weeks finding that BZs were more effective at treating anxiety than placebos
This shows that drugs are effective when used in randomised trials

Question 21

Why do anti-anxiety medication work

What does the research support for drug therapy suggest?

Answer 21

This suggests that drug therapy is effective, as patients who were given anti-anxiety medication (BZs) were found to have an improvement in their symptoms
This is due to the BZs affecting the GABA receptors in the brain=improved anxiety symptoms by impacting the CNS

Question 22

Why is drug therapy better than some other therapies?

Answer 22

Compared to treatments such as psychotherapy and CBT. Drug therapy is relatively cheap for the patient, particularly for patients in the UK due to the NHS

Question 23

Why is drug therapy in comparison to other therapies a strength?

Answer 23

Futhermore, the practicioner doesn’t need to invest as much time in patients, with drug therapy they only have to meet every couple months to discuss any progress
This is a strength as drug therapy is easier to administer and more efficent than other types of therapy

Question 24

What is the case study for side effects of drug therapy and why is it weakness?

Answer 24

Soomro(2008): Found that all drugs have unpleasant side effects. For example nausea, headachnes and insomnia are all side ffects of SSRI’s
In some cases this may off-puting for particular patients

Question 25

What is a counterarguement for side effects of drug therapy?

Answer 25

However, compared to the severity of symptoms of particular mental illnesses, e.g schizophrenia can cause hallucinations, we must consider whether the treatment with side effects is greater than simply leaving the mental illness untreated

Question 26

Why are side effects of aversion therapy a weakness?

Answer 26

This is a weakness as the side effects may make more patients unwilling to be treated for their mental illnesses. However, we must take into consideration that the severity of the symptoms of the mental illness is worth the side effects

Question 27

# One strength What are the three ethical points of drug therapy?

Answer 27

1. Use of placebos to mentally ill patients 2. Informed consent regarding information about drugs 3. Protection from serious harm

Question 28

What is the case for the use of placebos on mentally ill patients and how could it be improved?

Answer 28

A patient could be left at a disadvantage if they are suffering from a MH condition and are not receiving any medication for this Researchers should use a control condition with an existing effective drug, when testing a new treatment

Question 29

Describe the last two points of the use of placebos to mentally ill patients paragraph for drug therapy

Answer 29

* In biological trials to give patients drugs that are considered inferior is unethical~substituting an effective drug is unethicak * Weakness as patients are exposed to a treatment that is less effective than existing medication

Question 30

Describe the informed consent paragraph for drug therapy

Answer 30

* Lack of valid, informed consent * This means medical professions may withhold some information about the drugs * Example=may not fully explain that the pharmacological benefits of the drugs are slim * Weakness as patients are not accuratley told the truth and may lead to high expectations

Question 31

Describe the protection from serious harm for drug therapy

Answer 31

* In some cases drugs protect patients who are at risk of harming themselves and others * In cases where the P is experiancing severe symptoms e.g hallucinations drug therapy is the only way to improve * Due to biological intervention that DT provides, it's able to target causes of MH conditions e.g abundance of neurotransmitters in the brain * Strength as DT is able to target and treat MH illnesses that have a biological cause

Question 32

What is the biological approach debate and what are the three themes?

Answer 32

The ethics of neuroscience 1. Treating criminal behaviour 2. Enhance neurological function 3. Potential to cure disease

Question 33

What is the case study for treating criminal behaviour?

Answer 33

Studies levels of agression and impulsivity in people with a history of coduct disorder and criminsl behaviour Half the participant received a placebo and the other half received paroxetine

Question 34

What are the findings of the case study for treating criminal behaviour?

Answer 34

The people who received paroxeine showed a decrease in impulsive response and agression Suggests pharmological treatment can be used to reduce recidivism

Question 35

What is the against point for treating criminal behaviour?

Answer 35

Despite a possible link to neurological imbalances, criminal behaviour is due to the social context

Question 36

What is the case study against treating criminal behaviour?

Answer 36

A study suggested that if courts decided to use neurological interventions, it shows the ignorance of an individual's free will

Question 37

What does the case study against treating criminal behaviour suggest and what is a social implication of it?

Answer 37

Although neurological imbalances have a part in criminal behaviour, it is not the deciding factor. This means that the pharmalogical trearments may not work on all criminals S.E.E=This may lead to important mental health illnesses being ignored in the justice system

Question 38

What is the case study for enhancing neurological function?

Answer 38

This means that neuroscience could be used to improve the abilities of individuals Example=Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) is when a small electrical current is passed through the specific regions of the brsind

Question 39

What does the case study for enhancing neurological function suggest and what are the implications of it?

Answer 39

This suggests that students could use TDCS before exams in order to improve their academic performance S.E.E=This may pressure students to do TDCS in order to be better than other students This is a strength as it could be used for neuroenhancment

Question 40

What is the study for against enhancing neurological function?

Answer 40

A study warned people to be warry of TDCS limitations such as lack of training or liscensing rules for practicioners

Question 41

What are the last two point of the against enhancing neurological function?

Answer 41

AS a result of this poorly qualified clinicians may administer ineffective treatments or cause brain damage to patients Neuroscience isn't ethical as it has the potential to cause brain damage to patients which could have a serious impact on their lives and be irreversible

Question 42

What is the case study for neuroscience's potential to cure disease?

Answer 42

Neuroscience has helped the development of effective treatments for MH disorders such as depression via SSRIs

Question 43

What are the last two point for neuroscience's potential to cure disease?

Answer 43

Neuroscience is beneficial in treating disorders and reducing symptoms of said disorders Neuroscience is ethical as advances in neuroscience has lead to the development of succesful treatments

Question 44

What is the against point for neuroscience's potential to cure disease and what research suppports it?

Answer 44

Treatments developed from knowledge of neuroscience can have issues For example, a researcher investigated a range of studies which involved anti-depressents and stated that people were twice as likely to comitt suicide than those given a placebo

Question 45

What are the last two points for against neuroscience's potential to cure disease?

Answer 45

This means that the treatments can cause further psychological or physical harm e.g memory impairment