c



 

II. Mood Disorders
3. Explaining Mood Disorders
Must explain the following:
àp 3ehavioral and cognitive changes that accompany depression.
àp Depression is widespread.
àp Gender difference: women are twice as vulnerable to major depression, even more so if they have been
depressed before. In general, women are most vulnerable to passive disorders²internalized states, such
as depression, anxiety, and inhibited sexual desire. Men¶s disorders are more active²alcohol abuse,
antisocial conduct, lack of impulse control.
àp Most major depressive episodes self-terminate. Therapy can speed recovery, yet most people suffering
major depression return to normal without professional help.
àp Gtressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships often precede depression.
àp Dramatic increases in depression worldwide (and anxiety disorders).
àp Depression peaks at 18-24 years then declines with age.

The 3iological Perspective

àp Genetic influences- twin studies.
àp Ñinkage analysis- find families that have had the disorder across several generations. Then they draw
blood from both affected and unaffected family members and examine their DNA looking for
differences. Ñinkage analysis points us to a chromosome neighborhood.
àp Association studies- search for correlations between more specific DNA variation and a population trait.
The Depressed 3rain
àp Norepinephrine (arousal) overabundant during mania and scarce during depression; depressed people
smoke ± increases norephinephrine.
àp Gerotonin scare during depression; PET scans ± less activity in frontal lobes which, along with
hippocampus, shrink with depression.
àp Drugs that alleviate mania reduce norepinephrine; drugs that relieve depression tend to increase
norepinephrine or serotonin by blocking either their reuptake (as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil do with
serotonin) or their chemical breakdown.
àp Depetitive physical exercise, such as jogging, reduces depression by increasing serotonin levels.
àp [mega 3- fatty acid (³good´; found in fish) enhances brain function= less depression.

The Gocial-Cognitive Perspective

àp Negative thoughts influence biochemical events that amplify depressing thoughts; ›
   

 ›
arise from learned helplessness.
àp Îopelessness is the result of pessimistic, overgeneralized, self-blaming attributions. The rise in
individualism in the UG may contribute to rise in hopelessness and depression ± fosters self-blame for
personal failure.
àp Gtate-dependent memory: depressed mood triggers negative thoughts.
àp Depression¶s vicious cycle: preexisting pessimism encountering failure. Failure leads to brooding which
can be adaptive (gain insights during times of depressed inactivity that can later lead to more effective
strategies for interacting with the world).
àp 3ut depression-prone people respond to bad events in especially self-focused, self blaming ways.
àp Gender difference in emotional memory may explain higher rates of depression in women.
(1)pNegative, stressful events interpreted through (2) a ruminating, pessimistic explanatory style create
(3) a hopeless, depressed state that (4) hampers the way the person thinks and acts. This, in turn,
fuels (1) more negative experiences.

IV. Gchizophrenia
 àp Gchizophrenia- a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking,
disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.
1.pGymptoms of Gchizophrenia
àp Delusions- false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.
àp 3reakdown of selective attention (like cocktail-party effect)= word salad/ jumping thoughts.
àp Îallucinations- sensory experiences without sensory stimulation. Usually auditory.
àp Flat affect- a zombielike state of apparent apathy.
àp Catatonic schizophrenia: a form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed
stuporous state for long periods; the catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme excitement.
2.pGubtypes of Gchizophrenia
àp Positive symptoms: Îallucinations, disorganized and deluded talk, inappropriate affect (laughter, tears,
or rage); presence of inappropriate behaviors.
àp Negative symptoms: Toneless voices, expressionless faces, or mute and rigid bodies; absence of
appropriate behaviors.
àp 3ecause schizophrenia is more than one disorder, these varied symptoms could have more than one
cause; sudden (acute, reactive) or gradual (chronic, process) onset in early adulthood.
àp 3etter prognosis if positive symptom and acute (sudden onset).
àp Paranoid:Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or
grandiosity.
àp Disorganized: Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion.
àp Catatonic:Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike
repeating of another's speech or movements.
àp Undifferentiated:Many and varied symptoms.
àp Desidual:Withdrawal, after hallucination and delusions have disappeared.
3.pUnderstanding Gchizophrenia
àp 3rain abnormalities: Dopamine over-reactivity (excess D4 dopamine receptors); dopamine blockers help
positive but not negative symptom schizophrenics, which may be due to glutamate inhibition (a
neurotransmitter that facilitates neural impulses).
àp Anatomy: 3rain abnormalities in schizophrenics; enlarged fluid-filled sacs and decreased cortex and
thalamus (which filters sensory input); multiple areas involved; low birth weight and birth
complications. Ñow brain activity in frontal lobes. Decline in brain waves that reflect synchronized
neural firing. Thalamus reactive during hallucinations. Increased activity in amygdala.
àp Maternal Virus during Midpregnancy: Viruses in the mother¶s body can cause fetal damage and cause
the baby to develop schizophrenia.
àp Genetic factors: Îigh heritability: 1:100 general pop 1:10 if parent, 1:2 for ID twin. Identical twin
studies indicate that it may still be a shared virus (twins who share a placenta more likely to both
develop the disease than twins who don¶t). Multiple genes are likely to be involved that predispose
schizophrenic brain abnormalities. Gome code for proteins that breakdown dopamine. [ther makes the
myelin sheath. Genetic predisposition to the disorder but development depends on other factors²
prenatal viral infections, nutritional and oxygen deprivation.
àp Psychological factors: Possible early warning signs include: mother whose schizophrenia was severe and
long-lasting, separation from parents, disruptive and withdrawn behavior, emotional unpredictability,
etc.

V. Personality Disorders
àp Personality disorder- psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns
that impair social functioning.
àp Avoidant personality disorder: Cluster of disorders that express anxiety, such as a fearful sensitivity to
rejection that predisposes withdrawalá
 àp Gchizoid personality disorder: Cluster of disorders that express eccentric behaviors, such as the social
disengagement.
àp Îistrionic personality disorder: Cluster of disorders that exhibit dramatic or impulsive behaviors;
displays shallow, attention-getting emotions and goes to great lengths to gain others¶ praise and
reassurance.
àp Narcissistic personality disorder: Exaggerate self-importance, success fantasies; can¶t accept criticism -
react with rage or shame. 
àp 3orderline personality disorder: Unstable identity, unstable relationships, and unstable emotions.
Unstable sense of self.
1.pAntisocial Personality Disorder
àp Antisocial personality disorder: The person (usually a male) exhibits a lack of conscience for
wrongdoing (even toward family and friends); aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist (note that
most criminals have a conscience with regard to family and friends).
2.pUnderstanding Antisocial Personality Disorder
àp Genetic vulnerability appears as a fearless approach to life. Ñower levels of arousal and stress hormones.
As young as 3 to 6, impulsive, uninhibited, unconcerned with social rewards, and low in anxiety.
Deduced frontal lobe activity (planning and impulse control). 3iological as well as environmental
influences explain why 5 to 6 percent of offenders commit 50 to 60 percent of crimes. Gociocultural
factors needed to explain the modern epidemic of violence.

VI. Dates of Psychological Disorders

àp 1 in 7 Americans had suffered clinically significant mental disorder in 2001. 1 in 6 in 3ritain.
àp Australian government survey of 10, 600 adults= 1 in 6 have mental disorder. Gtudy of 4500 children
and adolescents= 1 in 7 have mental health problems.
àp 1 in 6 people have a disorder; risk is 2X greater among the poor; most disorder show up by early
adulthood
àp Females higher in depression and anxiety; males higher in alcohol abuse and antisocial personality.
àp Phobias and alcohol abuse are the most prevalent disorders
àp Antisocial personality disorder and phobias= mean age of 8 to 10.
àp Alcohol abuse, [CD, 3ipolar, schizophrenia= median age of 20.
àp Major depression= median age of 25.



1.pè a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms:
extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
2.pè  


 a personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of
conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a
clever con artist.
3.pè
 psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive
behaviors that reduce anxiety.
4.p3
 a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of
depression and the overexcited state of mania.
5.p  false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.
6.p rare and controversial dissociative disorder in which an individual experiences two or more distinct and
alternating personalities.
7.p 
 disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous
memories, thoughts, and feelings.
8.p  the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic and Gtatistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth
Edition), a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders. Presently distributed in an updated "text
revision".
â.px 
è
 an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in
a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.
10.p
 a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or
more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminishes interest or pleasure in most
activities.
11.p

 a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.
12.p
 the concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most
cases, cured. When applied to psychological disorders, the medical model assumes that these mental illnesses
can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms and cured through therapy, which may include treatment in a
psychiatric hospital.
13.p psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.
14.p[c an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and/or actions.
15.p

  an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which
a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.
16.p

 psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns
that impair social functioning.
17.p

 an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or
situation.
18.p


 !
" an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares,
social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic
experience.
1â.p
 
 deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional behavior patterns.
20.p   
 a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed
perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.

 



The Prevalence of mental disorders in 2003