AP PSYCH Unit 13.3 Biomedical Therapies Prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient s nervous system. Drugs that alter brain chemistry Affecting brain circuitry with electric shock, magnetic impulses, or psychosurgery. Psychologists psychotherapy, but Psychiatrists (MD) can prescribe biomedical therapy
Drug Therapies Psychopharmacologystudy of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior. Drugs have minimized involuntary hospitalization. Why is this a good thing? Why is this a bad thing?
Antipsychotic Drugs Used to treat people with psychoses (schizo) Psychoses = break in reality where people experience hallucinations or delusions. Dampen responsiveness to irrelevant stimuli. Antagonist for Dopamine Can cause sluggishness, tremors, and twitches because of the low dopamine levels. Chlorpromazine
Antipsychotic Drugs Negative side effects Nausea Headaches Exacerbation of other medical problems Tardive Dyskinesia - Involuntary movements of the facial muscles tongue and limbs. Atypical Antipsychotics clozapine, alleviate negative symptoms of schizophrenia (catatonia) (Awakenings)
Antianxiety Drugs Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation, PTSD, OCD Depress central nervous system activity, eliminate learned fears Can t take w/ alcohol Xanax, Ativan Enhances effects of exposure therapy Can become physiologically dependent. Reduce symptoms without addressing root cause of problem
Antidepressant Drugs Drugs used to treat depression or anxiety. Altering the levels of various neurotransmitters. Increase availability of Norepinephrine or Serotonin Selective-Serotonin-Reuptake- Inhibitors: Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil Can have serious side effects Dry mouth, weight gain, hypertension, dizzy spells, weak sex drive Full effect of the drug may take up to four weeks (neurogenesis)
Antidepressant Drugs
Antidepressant Drugs Exercise & Cognitive Therapy maybe as powerful on mild depression as pills 75% of antidepressants effects can be contributed to the placebo effect. But less for severe depression. 1 in 4 people do not respond to a particular antidepressant and switching to another usually brings relief. What are the negative side effects? Any long term damage?
Mood-Stabilizing Medications Lithium (a salt) mood stabilizing drug for ups and downs of bipolar disorder Effectively treats 7 in 10 with bipolar Greatly reduces suicide risk Depakote originally for epilepsy but effective in controlling manic episodes
Brain Stimulation Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Severely depressed patients Brief electric current sent through brain of anesthetized patient Electrocuting people into convulsions (Shock treatment) Patients used to be awake when first used in 1938 100 volts of electricity for 30-60 seconds. Some memory loss is common. We do not know why or how it works maybe similar to rebooting a computer Reduces suicide risk
Alternative Neurostimulation Therapies Chest implant that stimulates vagus nerve (message to limbic system) Magnetic Stimulation or Repetitive Transduction Magnetic Stimulation (rtms) involves the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity. Surface of brain, not too deep Not too many negative side effects Stimulates left frontal lobe Deep Brain Stimulation overactive area of brain bridging frontal lobe to limbic system is excited Experimental technique Surgical Implant
Psychosurgery Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior. Lobotomy - A procedure that cut the nerves connecting the frontal lobes to the emotioncontrolling centers of the inner brain. Now rare Created permanently lethargic personality.
Therapeutic Life-Style Change Aerobic Exercise helps to calm those with anxiety disorders and energize those who feel depressed. Adequate sleep (7-8 hours a day) can increase energy and alertness. Light exposure amplifies arousal and influences hormones. Social connections helps to satisfy the human need to belong. Positive Thinking Nutritional supplements helps with healthy brain functioning.
Preventing Psychological Disorders Resilience personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma Can resilience prevent psychological disorders? Develop coping competency Upstream analogy (saving drowning people over and over or go upstream and fix the initial cause of the problem) Poverty, meaningless work, constant criticism, unemployment, racism, sexism We can prevent by alleviating demoralizing situations