Biological therapies for abnormality

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  • Biological therapies for abnormality
    • Drugs
      • drugs enter the bloodstream to effect the transmission of neurotransmitters, which then modify behavior.
        • Antipsychotic - eg, chlorpromazine, can be used to treat schizophrenia by blocking the neurotransmitter dopamine.
        • Antidepressant - eg, SSRIs can be used to treat depression by increasing levels of serotonin.
        • Antianxietys - eg, Benzodiazepines can be used to treat phobias by increasing GABA production and slowing down the central nervous system.
    • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • induces changes in neurotransmitter levels, increasing sensitivity to serotonin, and increasing the release of GABA. it is used with drug resistant depression, and has been reintroduced as a treatment for schizophrenia. treatment occurs several times a week for 6-12 treatments. a general anasthetic and muscle relaxant is given so that pain and fractures are not experienced.
        • Bilateral - occuring through stimulation of both hemispheres
        • Unilateral - occuring through stimulation of the non-dominant hemispheres
    • AO2 - drugs are easy to administer and easy for the patient to take. cheap, time and cost effective. side effects, risks of addiction and withdrawal symptoms. ECT & drugs only treat symptoms not side effects. ECT is a very last resort - life saver. 84% of ECT patients relapse within 6 months. ECT is not appropritate for children, elderly or pregant women. psychosurgery is not a cure, but an irreversible chnage to the personality which may just have made patients easier to handle.
    • Psychosurgery
      • brain surgery involving destruction or seperation of parts of the brain. Moniz - frontal lobatomy - seperating parts of the frontal lobes from the rest of the brain, finding reduced aggression and generally making people more placid.

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