Download AP Psych Lesson 16.6

VI. Biomedical Therapy
Chapter 16

Biomedical therapy works by physically
changing the brain’s functioning by altering
its chemistry with drugs, or affecting its
circuitry with electroconvulsive shock,
magnetic impulses, or psychosurgery.
A. Drug Therapy

This is the most widely used biological
treatment

It has revolutionized the treatment of
people with severe disorders—keeping
thousands of people from hospital
confinement.
a. Antipsychotic Drugs

Antipsychotic drugs are major tranquilizers
used to treat patients with schizophrenia
because they are effective at reducing
agitation, delusions, and hallucinations
◦ Ex—Thorazine; Risperdal; Zyprexa

They are thought to work by blocking the
activity of dopamine in the brain, which is
thought to contribute to schizophrenia

Antipsychotics have powerful side effects.
Some produce sluggishness, tremors, and
twitches similar to those of Parkinson’s
disease.

Long term use of antipsychotics can
produce tardive dyskinesia, with
involuntary movements of the facial
muscles, tongue, and limbs.
b. Antianxiety Drugs

Antianxiety drugs, which are mild tranquilizers,
are used as an outpatient treatment to help
people with anxiety disorders or panic attacks
◦ Ex—Xanax; Ativan

They work by depressing the activity of the
nervous system

The longer a person takes an antianxiety
medication, the less effective the drug may
become

Antianxiety drugs can also cause
psychological dependence. After heavy
use, people who stop taking them may
suffer withdrawal symptoms.

Many psychiatric patients are now
receiving treatment for anxiety disorders
by being prescribed antidepressants.
c. Antidepressant Drugs

People who suffer from major depression
are often treated with antidepressant drugs.
More recently, these are being used in the
treatment of eating and anxiety disorders.

Antidepressants work by increasing the
amount of neurotransmitters—
norepinephrine and serotonin
◦ Ex—Prozac; Zoloft; Paxil

In order to work effectively, antidepressant
medications must build up in the body to a
certain level—usually 4 weeks

Antidepressant drugs aren’t the only way to
boost your mood. Aerobic exercise and
cognitive therapy (by helping people reverse
their habitual negative thinking style) can
help.

People with depression often improve after
a month on antidepressants.
d. Lithium

Salt lithium is given in tablet form to help
people with bipolar disorder. It is a
mood-stabilizing drug.

No one is completely sure how or why it
works

The drug Depakote, a drug originally used
to treat epilepsy, also has proven effective.

Side effects may include shakiness,
memory impairment, and excessive thirst.
B. Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) occurs
when an electric current is passed
through a person’s brain. The current
produces convulsions.

Anesthesia is administered so that the
person is unconscious

The shock lasts 30-60 seconds and within
30 minutes, the patient wakes up.

After 3 sessions per week for 2-4 weeks,
80% or more of people improved.

It is an effective treatment for people
with severe depression who don’t
respond to antidepressant drugs

Very controversial treatment. About 4 in
10 ECT-treated patients relapse into
depression within 6 months.

It also has some serious side effects such
as memory loss, headaches, or seizures.

However, many psychiatrists and patients
believe that ECT is a lesser evil than
severe depression’s misery.
D. Magnetic Stimulation

Repetitive transcranial magnetic
stimulation (rTMS) is the application of
repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the
brain. It is used to stimulate or suppress
brain activity.

It is performed on wide-awake patients
over several weeks.

Unlike ECT, the rTMS procedure
produces no side effects.

Researchers are unclear on exactly how
this procedure works.
E. Psychosurgery

Psychosurgery is brain surgery that
removes or destroys brain tissue in an
effort to change behavior.

The best known technique was a
lobotomy, which involved cutting nerve
pathways to the brain between the frontal
lobes and the emotion-controlling centers
of the brain.

This was used to reduce the
uncontrollable agitation and violence of
people with severe psychological
disorders

However, the treatment produced several
serious side effects—the person was
permanently lethargic, immature, and
uncreative.

The procedure was so controversial that
it has been abandoned.

Today, more precise, microscale
psychosurgery is sometimes used in extreme
cases.
◦ Ex—if a person suffers from uncontrollable
seizures, surgeons can deactivate the
specific nerve clusters that cause or
transmit the convulsions.

Because these procedures are irreversible,
neurosurgeons perform them only as a last
result.