Biological explanations of depression: Noradrenaline

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Biological explanations of depression: Noradrenaline

Advantages

  • The link was supported by Leonard (2000) who found that drugs that lower noradrenaline levels bring about depressive states and drugs which increase noradrenaline levels show antidepressant effects. Kraft et al (2005) supported this view. They studied 96 patients with major depression who were treated for 6 weeks with a dual serotonin-noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor (SRNI). The patients showed a significantly more positive response than those treated with a placebo. Thus strengthening the link between the disturbance of these neurotransmitters and depression.

Disadvantages

Evaluation

Overall the biological explanation is reductionist which means it breaks down the explanation in to parts. This is a limitation because it doesn’t show how the different biological explanations work together to cause depression, for example there is no link between genetic and biochemical explanations which means the biological explanation cannot be explained as a whole. A farther limitation of the biological explanations a whole is that they ignore free will and suggest that depression is caused by genetic or biochemicals   and that people have no choice in their behaviour as it determined by these factors which not true as not everyone with low serotonin levels or is genetically close to someone will have depression themselves.

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