Analyzing Psychological Disorders Research Paper
Analyzing Psychological Disorders
Heather Michaud
Psychology: The Brain, The Body, and The Mind: All Together Now
2/21/2010
Kim Piowarsy
Disorders: Part A A good psychologist should have the understanding of how the body and mind work together. What makes a person who they are and how they operate. Psychologists are the ones that help others to understand what disorders are and how to handle them in difficult situations. In this essay it will be discussed what the understanding is of the causes and treatments of schizophrenia. This essay will also touch on anxiety and insomnia from a biopsychologist’s point of view as well as the relation to the nature versus nurture issue.
Schizophrenia
To be able to tell the areas of …show more content…
the brain that are affected, causal factors, associated symptoms, the neural basis, and appropriate drug therapies, it first needs to be discussed what schizophrenia is. So here is a brief definition: It is said that schizophrenia is the “splitting of psychic functions”. It is the breakdown of one’s emotions, thoughts and actions (Pinel, 2007). Most people that run into someone with schizophrenia might think that they have gone completely mad and in all actuality, they have. In the mind of a schizophrenic person their thoughts and actions are perfectly normal to them. In fact they might believe that we are the ones with the disorder. That our actions and opinions to assist them might be out of sorts. Most however, do not get to the point of thinking about the disorder that they might have.
Areas of the Brain Affected When studies first began on the areas affected in schizophrenia it was said that the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex where affected, but further research has found that the thalamus and the cerebellum are also affected (Stanley Medical Research, 2008). The hippocampus is what assists us in keeping memory. This is part of our temporal lobe. In mental illness the hippocampus is said to shrink, but that shrinkage can be reversed (psycheducation.org). The prefrontal cortex is the “area of the brain that is thought to be involved in planning complex cognitive behaviors and in expressing personality and appropriate behavior. It is associated with motor cortices.” (brainexplorer.org). The thalamus is the part of the brain that processes and relays movement and sensory information. It is also known as the relay station because it sends information out only to retrieve other information (Cherry, 2010). The last part of the brain that is affected in schizophrenia is the cerebellum. The cerebellum is involved in the coordination of voluntary motor movement, balance and equilibrium and muscle tone (CNS, 2009).
Causal Factors When it comes to causal factors of schizophrenia there is said to be many.
Some of those causal factors are genetics, which are caused by the interactions of several genes, prenatal development which can be linked to low birth weight, low oxygen levels and slow fetal growth, and early environment which could be linked too viral infections, polio, measles, varicella, rubella, and herpes simplex. These have been associated with an increase of higher risk in later developing schizophrenia. Drugs also have a part in increasing the risk of schizophrenia. It is said that PCP and LSD can mimic the symptoms of schizophrenia and cannabis also known as marijuana can increase the risks of developing the disorder (Wikimedia, …show more content…
2010). Other common factors that can be the cause of schizophrenia is social adversity. In research it has been found that children who endure abuse or are subject to trauma are at great risk factors of developing schizophrenia later in life. It is also evident that when a child is exposed to negative attitudes such as, critical comments, hostility, controlling attitudes and unsupportive dysfunctional relationships that they run the risk of schizophrenia relapse. Although close family and significant others are not responsible of causing the schizophrenia the attitudes, behaviors, and their interactions are closely looked at (Wikimedia, 2010).
Associated Symptoms There are many symptoms that come with schizophrenia.
The first one that will be talked about is stuporous catatonic schizophrenia. This is a type of schizophrenia where the patient or client will go for long periods of immobility and have a waxy flexibility. This means that if one were to lift the clients arm and drop it there would be no action, it would simply just fall to the side. Another symptom of schizophrenia is echolalia which is when the speech pattern is characterized by repeating what has been heard. Some people also have bizarre delusions which give the client thoughts of being controlled, persecutions and delusions of grandeur. Inappropriate effect is something else that one would find common in a person with schizophrenia. This is the failure to react to situations with an appropriate level of emotion whether it is positive or negative (Pinel,
2007). The last three that are the most common in schizophrenia are hallucinations, incoherent thoughts, and odd behavior. Most clients that have hallucinations have what is called imaginary voices that tell the person what to do and usually tell the person negative things about themselves and their behavior. Illogical thoughts most likely are wrapped around the thought of the supernatural. That meaning that they believe in aliens or other forces that live here on this planet. Odd behavior is what most of us see when we are out in public and meet someone with schizophrenia. Most want to avoid being out in public, but when they are one might notice a lack of personal hygiene, long periods with no movement (catatonia) and one may see them talking in circles making no sense at all (Pinel, 2007).
The Neural Basis Schizophrenia is known to be a very complex disease that affects the brain, any life experiences and the behavior of those that it may affect. Our brain responds to stimuli such as noise, sights, and memories. The brain also modulates these inputs. This is the reason why we can only think of one thing at a time or why we can choose to listen to something or tune it out (Chuck, 2009). People with schizophrenia find it difficult to do these things because their brain does not work the same as a person with normal brain chemistries. They are not able to tune out what is in their environment let alone the “voices” they might hear. Therefore, schizophrenia is simply due to the failure of modulation mechanisms of the brain. With schizophrenia being multifactoral, there can be no single basis (Chuck, 2009).
Appropriate Drug Therapies It has been recorded that in the early 1950’s scientists had a major breakthrough in the study of the biochemistry of schizophrenia. It was accidentally discovered that chlorpromazine could be used as an antischizophrenic drug. Chlorpromazine was first used to reduce swelling and have a calming effect on patients that were going to have surgery. In turn, it was thought to have the same effect on the symptoms of schizophrenia, but not in the same way. Schizophrenics that appeared to be agitated and tried the medication were said to be calmer and schizophrenics that were blunted seemed to be activated by it. The down fall to taking an antischizophrenic is that it takes up three weeks to be fully effective in a person’s body. Of course most medications usually take that long to begin with. The other down fall to taking antischizophrenic medication is that it is known to cause symptoms that are similar to Parkinson’s disease. These symptoms include tremors while at rest, muscular rigidity, and general decrease in voluntary movement (Pinel, 2007). Another effective drug is known as clozapine. This drug is most commonly used in schizophrenics that that have not responded to the typical neuroleptics. This drug does not have as many side effects as chlorpromazine and does not cause the patients to have similar symptoms to Parkinson’s disease. The only thing that is unfortunate about this drug is that taking it for long periods of time is known to cause blood disorders in about 1% of patients that use it (Pinel, 2007).
Anxiety: Part B After reading the case study about Tom, it appears that he has nothing to worry about from most people’s view, but that is where they are wrong. Tom’s life appears perfect because he has strived to have it that way. He has probably done this by working many hours at his job and being a good father to his children and a good husband to his wife. By achieving all that he has, I am sure that he feels he will let them down someday. Maybe he is worried about when he gets older who will take care of his family or maybe if something terrible were to ever happen to him and it result in a sudden death, has he taken care of everything that he needs too? Tom also has the problem of wearing himself to thin. He seems to be a caregiver, but that is not always good. We are human and humans can only do so much before their bodies start to wear down. Now in a nature versus nurture, I would say this probably has to do with the way that he was raised. His parents were probably hard working people and gave him choirs to do around the house. As a child growing up in this type of environment, yes it allowed him to learn responsibilities, but at the same time probably made him realize that if he did not work hard in life, he would get nowhere let alone have nothing. This could cause a person to develop anxiety at a young age. Tom needs to relax, but this is easier said then done. He should see his doctor and maybe talk to him/her about the anxiety issues that he is dealing with. Maybe taking an antianxiety medication would be beneficial. The only problem is that most can be habit forming.
Insomnia: Part B After reading Mary’s problem I would have to say that she does not suffer from insomnia. This is called sleep misperception. An individual might feel that they are experiencing insomnia, but in all reality they are not. This condition occurs when an individual reports that they are sleeping less then they really do. This may be due to inconsistencies in the time it took to fall asleep, and/or the total amount of time they were sleeping (Lain, 2008). Since Mary has already gone to her doctor and he is reluctant to give her any kind of prescription drug she could try something over the counter. Tylenol Pm is said to work good for people that have difficulties sleeping sometime. It also states that it is no habit forming. She could also try what is called Unisom. This is the same as Tylenol and she could still get the sleep she needed without having to take it every night. Of course this would need to be discussed with her doctor as well.
Conclusion
In conclusion we have gone over schizophrenia. What part of the brain it affects, the causal factors, associated symptoms, the neural basis, and the appropriate drug therapies. In all of these we have learned that schizophrenia is a major psychological disorder and needs to be tended to with the appropriate care. We also have gone over the case study about Tom. He obviously deals with anxiety differently then most people do, but there are fixes for that as well as the normal anxiety. In Mary’s case we learned that she does not suffer from insomnia and that there are ways that she can deal with her nights of not sleeping. When taking over the counter medication always make sure to talk to your doctor first.
Reference
Pinel, J. P.J (2007) Basics of Biopsychology. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon
The Stanley Medical Research Institute (2008) Retrieved 21, Feb. 2010 from http://www.stanleyresearch.org
K.Cherry (2010) About.com Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://psychology.about.com/Db/biopsychology/ss/brainstructure_6.htm
Centre for Neuro Skills (2009) Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bcerebel.shtml
Chuck (2009) Yahoo answers Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090729104250AATQ9Jz
Lain (2008) Health and Wellness Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6D1461/insomnia_a_biological_standpoint_pg3.html
Wikimedia Foundation (2010) Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety
Heather Michaud
Psychology: The Brain, The Body, and The Mind: All Together Now
2/21/2010
Kim Piowarsy
Disorders: Part A A good psychologist should have the understanding of how the body and mind work together. What makes a person who they are and how they operate. Psychologists are the ones that help others to understand what disorders are and how to handle them in difficult situations. In this essay it will be discussed what the understanding is of the causes and treatments of schizophrenia. This essay will also touch on anxiety and insomnia from a biopsychologist’s point of view as well as the relation to the nature versus nurture issue.
Schizophrenia
To be able to tell the areas of …show more content…
the brain that are affected, causal factors, associated symptoms, the neural basis, and appropriate drug therapies, it first needs to be discussed what schizophrenia is. So here is a brief definition: It is said that schizophrenia is the “splitting of psychic functions”. It is the breakdown of one’s emotions, thoughts and actions (Pinel, 2007). Most people that run into someone with schizophrenia might think that they have gone completely mad and in all actuality, they have. In the mind of a schizophrenic person their thoughts and actions are perfectly normal to them. In fact they might believe that we are the ones with the disorder. That our actions and opinions to assist them might be out of sorts. Most however, do not get to the point of thinking about the disorder that they might have.
Areas of the Brain Affected When studies first began on the areas affected in schizophrenia it was said that the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex where affected, but further research has found that the thalamus and the cerebellum are also affected (Stanley Medical Research, 2008). The hippocampus is what assists us in keeping memory. This is part of our temporal lobe. In mental illness the hippocampus is said to shrink, but that shrinkage can be reversed (psycheducation.org). The prefrontal cortex is the “area of the brain that is thought to be involved in planning complex cognitive behaviors and in expressing personality and appropriate behavior. It is associated with motor cortices.” (brainexplorer.org). The thalamus is the part of the brain that processes and relays movement and sensory information. It is also known as the relay station because it sends information out only to retrieve other information (Cherry, 2010). The last part of the brain that is affected in schizophrenia is the cerebellum. The cerebellum is involved in the coordination of voluntary motor movement, balance and equilibrium and muscle tone (CNS, 2009).
Causal Factors When it comes to causal factors of schizophrenia there is said to be many.
Some of those causal factors are genetics, which are caused by the interactions of several genes, prenatal development which can be linked to low birth weight, low oxygen levels and slow fetal growth, and early environment which could be linked too viral infections, polio, measles, varicella, rubella, and herpes simplex. These have been associated with an increase of higher risk in later developing schizophrenia. Drugs also have a part in increasing the risk of schizophrenia. It is said that PCP and LSD can mimic the symptoms of schizophrenia and cannabis also known as marijuana can increase the risks of developing the disorder (Wikimedia, …show more content…
2010). Other common factors that can be the cause of schizophrenia is social adversity. In research it has been found that children who endure abuse or are subject to trauma are at great risk factors of developing schizophrenia later in life. It is also evident that when a child is exposed to negative attitudes such as, critical comments, hostility, controlling attitudes and unsupportive dysfunctional relationships that they run the risk of schizophrenia relapse. Although close family and significant others are not responsible of causing the schizophrenia the attitudes, behaviors, and their interactions are closely looked at (Wikimedia, 2010).
Associated Symptoms There are many symptoms that come with schizophrenia.
The first one that will be talked about is stuporous catatonic schizophrenia. This is a type of schizophrenia where the patient or client will go for long periods of immobility and have a waxy flexibility. This means that if one were to lift the clients arm and drop it there would be no action, it would simply just fall to the side. Another symptom of schizophrenia is echolalia which is when the speech pattern is characterized by repeating what has been heard. Some people also have bizarre delusions which give the client thoughts of being controlled, persecutions and delusions of grandeur. Inappropriate effect is something else that one would find common in a person with schizophrenia. This is the failure to react to situations with an appropriate level of emotion whether it is positive or negative (Pinel,
2007). The last three that are the most common in schizophrenia are hallucinations, incoherent thoughts, and odd behavior. Most clients that have hallucinations have what is called imaginary voices that tell the person what to do and usually tell the person negative things about themselves and their behavior. Illogical thoughts most likely are wrapped around the thought of the supernatural. That meaning that they believe in aliens or other forces that live here on this planet. Odd behavior is what most of us see when we are out in public and meet someone with schizophrenia. Most want to avoid being out in public, but when they are one might notice a lack of personal hygiene, long periods with no movement (catatonia) and one may see them talking in circles making no sense at all (Pinel, 2007).
The Neural Basis Schizophrenia is known to be a very complex disease that affects the brain, any life experiences and the behavior of those that it may affect. Our brain responds to stimuli such as noise, sights, and memories. The brain also modulates these inputs. This is the reason why we can only think of one thing at a time or why we can choose to listen to something or tune it out (Chuck, 2009). People with schizophrenia find it difficult to do these things because their brain does not work the same as a person with normal brain chemistries. They are not able to tune out what is in their environment let alone the “voices” they might hear. Therefore, schizophrenia is simply due to the failure of modulation mechanisms of the brain. With schizophrenia being multifactoral, there can be no single basis (Chuck, 2009).
Appropriate Drug Therapies It has been recorded that in the early 1950’s scientists had a major breakthrough in the study of the biochemistry of schizophrenia. It was accidentally discovered that chlorpromazine could be used as an antischizophrenic drug. Chlorpromazine was first used to reduce swelling and have a calming effect on patients that were going to have surgery. In turn, it was thought to have the same effect on the symptoms of schizophrenia, but not in the same way. Schizophrenics that appeared to be agitated and tried the medication were said to be calmer and schizophrenics that were blunted seemed to be activated by it. The down fall to taking an antischizophrenic is that it takes up three weeks to be fully effective in a person’s body. Of course most medications usually take that long to begin with. The other down fall to taking antischizophrenic medication is that it is known to cause symptoms that are similar to Parkinson’s disease. These symptoms include tremors while at rest, muscular rigidity, and general decrease in voluntary movement (Pinel, 2007). Another effective drug is known as clozapine. This drug is most commonly used in schizophrenics that that have not responded to the typical neuroleptics. This drug does not have as many side effects as chlorpromazine and does not cause the patients to have similar symptoms to Parkinson’s disease. The only thing that is unfortunate about this drug is that taking it for long periods of time is known to cause blood disorders in about 1% of patients that use it (Pinel, 2007).
Anxiety: Part B After reading the case study about Tom, it appears that he has nothing to worry about from most people’s view, but that is where they are wrong. Tom’s life appears perfect because he has strived to have it that way. He has probably done this by working many hours at his job and being a good father to his children and a good husband to his wife. By achieving all that he has, I am sure that he feels he will let them down someday. Maybe he is worried about when he gets older who will take care of his family or maybe if something terrible were to ever happen to him and it result in a sudden death, has he taken care of everything that he needs too? Tom also has the problem of wearing himself to thin. He seems to be a caregiver, but that is not always good. We are human and humans can only do so much before their bodies start to wear down. Now in a nature versus nurture, I would say this probably has to do with the way that he was raised. His parents were probably hard working people and gave him choirs to do around the house. As a child growing up in this type of environment, yes it allowed him to learn responsibilities, but at the same time probably made him realize that if he did not work hard in life, he would get nowhere let alone have nothing. This could cause a person to develop anxiety at a young age. Tom needs to relax, but this is easier said then done. He should see his doctor and maybe talk to him/her about the anxiety issues that he is dealing with. Maybe taking an antianxiety medication would be beneficial. The only problem is that most can be habit forming.
Insomnia: Part B After reading Mary’s problem I would have to say that she does not suffer from insomnia. This is called sleep misperception. An individual might feel that they are experiencing insomnia, but in all reality they are not. This condition occurs when an individual reports that they are sleeping less then they really do. This may be due to inconsistencies in the time it took to fall asleep, and/or the total amount of time they were sleeping (Lain, 2008). Since Mary has already gone to her doctor and he is reluctant to give her any kind of prescription drug she could try something over the counter. Tylenol Pm is said to work good for people that have difficulties sleeping sometime. It also states that it is no habit forming. She could also try what is called Unisom. This is the same as Tylenol and she could still get the sleep she needed without having to take it every night. Of course this would need to be discussed with her doctor as well.
Conclusion
In conclusion we have gone over schizophrenia. What part of the brain it affects, the causal factors, associated symptoms, the neural basis, and the appropriate drug therapies. In all of these we have learned that schizophrenia is a major psychological disorder and needs to be tended to with the appropriate care. We also have gone over the case study about Tom. He obviously deals with anxiety differently then most people do, but there are fixes for that as well as the normal anxiety. In Mary’s case we learned that she does not suffer from insomnia and that there are ways that she can deal with her nights of not sleeping. When taking over the counter medication always make sure to talk to your doctor first.
Reference
Pinel, J. P.J (2007) Basics of Biopsychology. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon
The Stanley Medical Research Institute (2008) Retrieved 21, Feb. 2010 from http://www.stanleyresearch.org
K.Cherry (2010) About.com Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://psychology.about.com/Db/biopsychology/ss/brainstructure_6.htm
Centre for Neuro Skills (2009) Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bcerebel.shtml
Chuck (2009) Yahoo answers Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090729104250AATQ9Jz
Lain (2008) Health and Wellness Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6D1461/insomnia_a_biological_standpoint_pg3.html
Wikimedia Foundation (2010) Retrieved 21, Feb 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety