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Chapter 2
An Integrative Approach to Psychopathology
One-Dimensional vs. Multidimensional Models
y One-Dimensional Models
ƒ Could mean a paradigm, school, or conceptual approach
ƒ Could mean an emphasis on a specific cause of abnormal behavior
y Multidimensional Models
ƒ Interdisciplinary, eclectic, and integrative
ƒ “System” of influences that cause and maintain suffering
ƒ Draws upon information from several sources
ƒ View abnormal behavior as multiply determined
ƒ Examples: Diathesis->Stress; Biopsychosocial
Multidimensional Models of Abnormal Behavior
Genetic Contributions to Psychopathology
ƒ Development and behavior is often polygenetic
ƒ Genetic Contribution to Psychopathology less than 50%
ƒ The Diathesis-Stress Model
y Examples include blood-injury-injection phobia and alcoholism
ƒ Reciprocal Gene-Environment Model
y Examples include depression and impulsivity
Neuroscience Contributions to Psychopathology
y The Field of Neuroscience
ƒ The role of the nervous system in disease and behavior
y The Central Nervous System (CNS)
ƒ Brain and spinal cord
y The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
ƒ Somatic and autonomic branches
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Neuroscience Contributions to Psychopathology (cont.)
Figure 2.4
Divisions of the nervous system (from Goldstein, 1994)
Neuroscience and the Central Nervous System
y The Neuron
ƒ Soma – Cell body
ƒ Dendrites – Branches that receive messages from other neurons
ƒ Axon – Trunk of neuron that sends messages to other neurons
ƒ Axon terminals – Buds at end of axon from which chemical messages are sent
ƒ Synapses – Small gaps that separate neurons
y Neurons Function Electrically, but Communicate Chemically
ƒ Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers
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Neuroscience and the Central Nervous System (cont.)
Figure 2.5
Transmission of information from one neuron to another
Neuroscience and Major
Neurotransmitters in Psychopathology
y
y
y
y
Norepinephrine (or noradrenaline)
Serotonin
Dopamine
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
Overview: Neuroscience and Brain Structure
y Two Main Parts
ƒ Brainstem and forebrain
y Three Main Divisions
ƒ Hindbrain
ƒ Midbrain
ƒ Forebrain
Overview: Neuroscience and Brain Structure (cont.)
Figure 2.6a
Three divisions of the brain
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Neuroscience and the Divisions of the Brain
y Hindbrain
ƒ Medulla – Heart rate, blood pressure, respiration
ƒ Pons – Regulates sleep stages
ƒ Cerebellum – Involved in physical coordination
y Midbrain
ƒ Coordinates movement with sensory input
ƒ Contains parts of the reticular activating system (RAS)
y Forebrain (Cerebral Cortex)
ƒ Location of most sensory, emotional, and cognitive processing
ƒ Two specialized hemispheres (left and right) joined by the corpus callosum
Neuroscience and the Divisions of the Brain (cont.)
Figure 2.6b (cont.)
Major structures of the brain
Neuroscience and the Brain Structure
Lobes of Cerebral Cortex
ƒ Frontal – Thinking and reasoning abilities, memory
ƒ Parietal – Touch recognition
ƒ Occipital – Integrates visual input
ƒ Temporal – Recognition of sights and sounds and long-term memory storage
y Limbic System
ƒ Thalamus – Receives and integrates sensory information
ƒ Hypothalamus – Controls eating, drinking, aggression, sexual activity
y
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Neuroscience and the Brain Structure (cont.)
Figure 2.6c
The limbic system
Neuroscience and the Brain Structure (cont.)
Figure 2.7
Major subdivisions of the human cerebral cortex and a few of their primary functions
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Neuroscience: Peripheral Nervous and Endocrine Systems
y Somatic Branch of PNS
ƒ Controls voluntary muscles and movement
y Autonomic Branch of the PNS
ƒ Sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the ANS
ƒ Regulates cardiovascular system & body temperature
ƒ Also regulates the endocrine system and aids in digestion
y The Endocrine System
ƒ Hormones
y The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenalcortical Axis (HYPAC axis)
ƒ Integration of endocrine and nervous system function
Neuroscience: Functions of Main
Types of Neurotransmitters
y Functions of Psychoactive Drugs
ƒ Agonists - increase activity of neurotransmitter by mimicking its effects
ƒ Antagonists – decrease/block neurotransmitter
ƒ Inverse agonists – produce effects opposite of the neurotranmitter
ƒ Most drugs are either agnostic or antagonistic
y Main Types and Functions of Neurotransmitters
ƒ Serotonin (5HT): Redux, Prozec (SSRI)
ƒ Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA): benzodiazepines reduce post-synaptic activity by
enhancing GABA effects; reduce anxiety
ƒ Norepinephrine: beta blockers reduce activity in response to increased levels of
norepinephrine; reduces blood pressure
ƒ Dopamine and L-Dopa
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Neuroscience: Functions of Main
Types of Neurotransmitters (cont.)
Figure 2.11
Manipulating serotonin in the brain
Implications of Neuroscience for Psychopathology
y Relations Between Brain and Abnormal Behavior
ƒ Examples include schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder
y Experience Can Change Brain Structure and Function
y Therapy Can Change Brain Structure and Function
ƒ Medications and psychotherapy
The Contributions of Behavioral and Cognitive Science
y Conditioning and Cognitive Processes
ƒ Learning: Classical and operant conditioning
ƒ Learned helplessness
ƒ Modeling and vicarious learning
ƒ Prepared learning
y Cognitive Science and the Unconscious
y Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
The Role of Emotion in Psychopathology
y The Nature of E-Motion
ƒ To e-licit or e-voke motion
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ƒ Action tendency different from affect and mood
ƒ Intimately tied with several forms of psychopathology
y Components of Emotion
ƒ Behavior, physiology, and cognition
ƒ Example of fear
y Harmful Side of Emotional Dysregulation
ƒ Anger, hostility, emotional suppression, illness, and psychopathology
The Role of Emotion in Psychopathology (cont.)
Figure 2.15
Emotion has three important and overlapping components: behavior, cognition, and physiology
Cultural, Social, and Interpersonal
Factors in Psychopathology
y Cultural Factors
ƒ Influence the form and expression of normal and abnormal behavior
y Gender Effects
ƒ Exerts a strong and puzzling effect on psychopathology
y Social Relationships
ƒ Frequency and quality related to mortality, disease, and psychopathology
ƒ Interpersonal Psychotherapy
y Stigma of Psychopathology Is Culturally, Socially, and Interpersonally Situated
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Life-Span and Developmental
Influences Over Psychopathology
y Life-Span Developmental Perspective
ƒ Addresses developmental changes
ƒ Such changes influence and constrain what is normal and abnormal
y The Principle of Equifinality
ƒ Concept in developmental psychopathology
ƒ Several paths to a given outcome
ƒ Paths may operate differentially at different developmental stages
Summary of the Multidimensional
Perspective of Psychopathology
y Multiple Causation
ƒ Is the rule, not the exception in explaining normal and abnormal behavior
y Take a Broad, Comprehensive, Systemic Perspective
ƒ Addressing biological, psychological, social, cultural, and developmental factors
y Useful in Understanding the Causes of Psychopathology and its Alleviation
Discussion Group 2 - Questions
y Describe the process/mechanism of transmission from one neuron to another.
y Provide an example of how a specific function (e.g., executive attention) has been
localized within the Central Nervous System (CNS).
y How would you describe the relationship between emotion and psychopathology?