Act on biological mechanisms that cause/involved in mental illness; altering function/availability of neurotransmitter, change cells function, remove dysfunctional parts.
Drugs; change amount of NT at synapse. NT cause behaviour, stopping them working, less available, reduce behaviour it causes. Increase quantity of NT, behaviour affected increase. Serotonin involved in depression. SSRIs stopping nerve cells reabsorbing serotonin released into synapse, more serotonin available. Effective for depression; Prozac. Benzodiazepine; anxiety, high blood pressure. Blocking receptors activated by adrenaline/noradrenaline, body less able to produce extreme sympathetic nervous system responses. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Stop enzyme monoamine oxidase breaking down noradrenaline, increase noradrenaline at synapse. Low-levels> depression, MAOIs, antidepressant. Antipsychotic drugs, schizophrenia, reducing amounts of dopamine at synapses.
Electroconvulsive therapy; electrodes to head, electric current through brain,convulsive fit. Effective at treating severe depression when no respond to antidepressant drugs. Psychosurgery; brain surgery. Invasive, remove brain tissue, effects irreversible/unpredictable. Developed for schizophrenia; Lobotomies destroying areas of pre-frontal cortex; planning/free will, patients compliant, less aggressive/easy to control. Rare procedures; extreme cases of OCD, removal of tumours that cause behaviour change.
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