CLPS 1700 - Chapter 3

Question 1

What are the benefits of diagnoses?

Answer 1

A clinician’s shorthand, can group symptoms into unique “constellations” so that it’s easier for clinicians to understand upon hearing, can convey etiology information if specific enough, enable research by grouping the affected, can draw attention to an issue, can provide solidarity (74-6)

Question 2

Diagnostic bias

Answer 2

Systematic error is diagnosis, such as consistently diagnosing more black patients with schizophrenia than white (76)

Question 3

prognosis

Answer 3

The likely course and outcome of a disorder (78)

Question 4

comorbidity

Answer 4

Presence of more than one disorder in a patient at a time (79)

Question 5

DSM Axis I

Answer 5

Clinical disorders, such as social phobia or bulimia nervosa (80)

Question 6

DSM Axis II

Answer 6

Personality disorders and mental retardation: to determine how the patient expresses the clinical disorders or comorbid disorders, and whether certain methods of treatment would be better (80)

Question 7

DSM Axis III

Answer 7

General medical conditions: physical disorders or disabilities (80)

Question 8

DSM Axis IV

Answer 8

Psychosocial and environmental problems: social and environmental problems that could influence diagnosis/treatment/prognosis (80)

Question 9

DSM Axis V

Answer 9

Global assessment of functioning: numerical value based on the scale (81)

Question 10

Examples of criteria that would fall under DSM Axis IV

Answer 10

Problems with a primary support group like the family, problems with the social environment like discrimination, educational problems like issues with a teacher, occupational problems like unemployment, housing problems like homelessness, economic problems like poverty, problems with access to health care like no health insurance, legal difficulties like being arrested or a victim (80-1)

Question 11

What is the name for problems that involve overcontrol?

Answer 11

Internalizing problems: like depression, anxiety, etc. (85)

Question 12

What is the name for problems that involve undercontrol?

Answer 12

Externalizing problems: like aggression, impulsivity (85)

Question 13

List some problems with DSM IV TR.

Answer 13

Varying definitions of clinical significance, disorders aren’t described as continua, heterogeneous groups are lumped together, symptoms are weighted equally when in fact certain symptoms may have a better prognosis than others, duration criteria are arbitrary, some sets of criteria are too restrictive, designed to milk insurance companies, medical illnesses as psychological disorders, no emphasis on social factors, common comorbidity suggests lack of adequate categorization, overlooks commonalities across diagnostic categories (82-5)

Question 14

What determines what types of information are included in a clinical assessment?

Answer 14

The reason for assessment, the type of clinician making the assessment, the setting in which the clinciians work, and financial issues related to the assessment (89)

Question 15

What are some potential reasons to make a clinical assessment?

Answer 15

To obtain additional info to make a diagnosis, to monitor the course of the symptoms, to determine what type of treatment would be most beneficial, or to monitor the progress of treatment (89)

Question 16

What are some methods of assessing neurological/biological factors when diagnosing mental disorders?

Answer 16

x-rays, CAT scans, MRIs, PET scans, fMRIs, etc.

Question 17

What structural abnormality of the brain is associated with schizophrenia?

Answer 17

Unusually large ventricles (fluid-filled spaces in the brain (90)

Question 18

How is a CAT scan used to assess neurological/biological factors when diagnosing mental disorders?

Answer 18

Builds and image of the person’s brain, slice by slice (90)

Question 19

What is the advantage of MRI over CAT?

Answer 19

More precise and detailed (90)

Question 20

How does an MRI work?

Answer 20

A magnet aligns the brain’s atoms along its pole. A second magnet, from a different angle, pulses at a specified frequency to swivel certain atoms to align with its magnetic field instead. When the second magnet is turned off, the swiveled atoms swing back to orient with the magnetic field of the first magnet, which creates a signal that can be recorded and assess to determine if there is any damage in certain areas. (90)

Question 21

Which neuroimaging methods are used to determine abnormal brain structures? Abnormal brain functioning?

Answer 21

X-rays, CAT, and MRI vs PET and fMRI (90)

Question 22

How does a PET scan work?

Answer 22

A small amount of radioactive substance is introduced into the blood stream. When the brain performs certain activities, it uses more blood, and thus exhibits more radioactivity, which is then measured to assess brain function. (91)

Question 23

What is currently the most widely used method for measuring human brain function?

Answer 23

fMRI (92)

Question 24

What happens when a region of the brain is activated, that can be measure by fMRI?

Answer 24

More oxygenated blood flows to the region than can be used, so there’s extra oxygen accumulated, which is measure by an fMRI scan (92)

Question 25

What is one of the major challenges when designing an fMRI or PET scan comparison?

Answer 25

It's hard to control the participant's "resting state" - maybe they're not actually resting (92)

Question 26

How does an MRS work?

Answer 26

Uses magnetic resonance to assess levels of neurotransmitter substances in the brain (92)

Question 27

What are ligands?

Answer 27

Radioactive molecules that mimic neurotransmitters, which can reveal where receptors for given neurotransmitters are located in the brain; used in PET scans (93)

Question 28

What is neuropsychological testing?

Answer 28

Using behavioral responses to draw inferences about brain functioning (93)

Question 29

What is the primary method of assessing psychological factors when diagnosing a mental disorder?

Answer 29

The clinical interview, most often in semistructured format (95)

Question 30

What is malingering?

Answer 30

Intentional false reporting of symptoms or exaggeration of existing symptoms, either for material gain or to avoid unwanted events (96)

Question 31

What is a factitious disorder?

Answer 31

A psychological disorder marked by the false reporting or inducing of medical or psychological symptoms un order to assume a sick role and receive attention (96)

Question 32

What is the difference between malingering and factitious disorders?

Answer 32

If you feign a factitious disorder, you're aiming for something other than material gain or avoidance (96)

Question 33

What is reporting bias?

Answer 33

Inaccuracies or distortions in a patient's response due to a desire to appear a particular way or out of unpreparedness/lack of thought/knowledge (96)