Psychopathology Flashcards

Question

What is trichotillomania?

Answer 1

Compulsive hair pulling

Answer 2

The compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything regardless of its value

Answer 3

Compulsive skin picking

Answer 4

- Compulsions (they reduce anxiety and are repetitive) - Avoidance of triggers

Answer 5

- Anxiety and distress - Accompanying depression - Guilt and disgust

Answer 6

- Obsessive thoughts - Cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions - Insight into excessive anxiety

Answer 7

Classical conditioning: - A phobia learnt through association - Example: A neutral stimulus (e.g dog) becomes associated with a fear response after a traumatic event (e.g. being bitten) Operant conditioning: - The phobia is maintained through negative reinforcement - Avoiding the feared object reduces anxiety, which reinforces the avoidance behaviour

Answer 8

A behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through the principle of classical conditioning.

Answer 9

The anxiety hierarchy - Is put together by patient and therapist. This is a list of situations related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety arranged in order from least to most frightening Relaxation - The therapists help the patient to relax as deeply as possible. This may be through breathing exercises, or mental techniques or drugs such as Valium. Exposer - The patient starts at the bottom of the hierarchy and move up.

Answer 10

A behavioural therapy in which a phobic patient is exposed to an extreme form of a phobic stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus.

Answer 11

- Faulty information processing - Negative self-schemas - The negative triad

Answer 12

- Negative view of the world - Negative view of the future - Negative view of the self

Answer 13

A - activating event B - beliefs C - consequences

Answer 14

The idea behind cognitive therapy is to identify automatic thoughts about the world, self and the future (the negative triad). Once identified these thoughts must be challenged. This is a central part of CBT. As well as this patients are set homework to test the reality of their believes, such as writing down every time somebody is nice to them. This is sometimes referred to as ‘patient as scientist’.

Answer 15

REBT extends the ABC model to an ADCDE model. D stands for dispute and E for effect The central technique of REBT is to identify and dispute irrational thoughts.

Answer 16

- Candidate genes - OCD is polygenic - Different types of OCD

Answer 17

Researchers have identified genes, which create vulnerability for OCD, called candidate genes. Some of these genes are involved in regulating the development of the serotonin system. For example, the gene 5HT1-D beta is implicated in the efficiency of transport of serotonin across synapses.

Answer 18

However, like many conditions, OCD seems to be polygenic. This means that OCD is not caused by one single gene but that several genes are involved. Taylor (2013) has analysed findings of previous studies and found evidence that up to 230 different genes may be involved in OCD. Genes that have been studied in relation to OCD include those associated with the action of dopamine as well as serotonin, both neurotransmitters believed to have a role in regulating mood.

Answer 19

The role of serotonin One explanation for OCD concerns the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is believed to help regulate mood. Neurotransmitters are responsible for relaying information from one neuron to another. If a person has low levels of serotonin then normal transmission of mood-relevant information does not take place and mood - and sometimes other mental processes - are affected. At least some cases of OCD may be explained by a reduction in the functioning of the serotonin system in the brain. Decision-making systems Some cases of OCD, and in particular hoarding disorder, seem to be associated with impaired decision making. This in turn may be associated with abnormal functioning of the lateral (side bits) of the frontal lobes of the brain. The frontal lobes are the front part of the brain (behind your forehead) that are responsible for logical thinking and making decisions. There is also evidence to suggest that an area called the left parahippocampal gyrus (see diagram on left), associated with processing unpleasant emotions, functions abnormally in OCD. All the main approaches in psychology

Answer 20

Drug therapy involves using medications to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. For OCD this usually targets serotonin to reduce symptoms.

Answer 21

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors increase serotonin levels by preventing its reabsorption into the neuron. This enhances mood and reduces OCD symptoms. Common SSRI fluoxetine.

Answer 22

SSRIs can reduce emotional symptoms, making it easier for patients to engage with CBT. This combination is more effective than treatment alone.

Answer 23

• Tricyclics (an older type of antidepressant) are sometimes used, such as Clomipramine. These have the same effect on the serotonin system as SSRIs. Clomipramine has more severe side-effects than SSRis so it is generally kept in reserve for patients who do not respond to SSRIs. • SNRIs (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors). In the last five years a different class of antidepressant drugs called SNRIs has also been used to treat OCD. These are, like Clomipramine, a second line of defence for patients who don't respond to SSRIs. SNRIs increase levels of serotonin as well as another different neurotransmitter - noradrenaline.

Psychopathology Flashcards

(47 cards)