Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Discuss biological
influences on abnormality
- Introduction
- Define abnormality
- Deviation from social
norms
- Deviation from ideal mental
health
- Failure to function adequatley
- Define MDD
- Prevalence
- 15% of people at one time in their life(1988),
most common in women, young adults, and those
in lower socio-economic conditions
- Symptoms
- ABCS
- Affective: e.g. feelings of guilt
- Behavioural: e.g. passivity
- Cognitive: e.g.
suicidal thoughts
- Somatic: e.g. hyper/insomnia
- Define Bulimia
- Prevalence
- 2-3% women,
0.02-0,03% men
in the US
- Symptoms
- Somatic: e.g. swollen
salivary glands
- Cognitive: e.g. poor
body image
- Behavioural: e.g.recurrent episodes
of binge eating/purging
- Affective: e.g. guilt or shame
- Biological etiologies of MDD
as an example of abnormality
- Bio-Chemistry
- Combination
- Faulty gene coding for 5-HTT
- Faulty MAOA gene
- Monoamine oxidase
- Both play roles in the metabolism of serotonin. If
too much is removed, it can lead to low moods
- Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters and hormones
- Cortisol
- Major hormone in the stress system
- RESEARCH: meta-analysis to see cortisols influence on MDD.
Results showed a difference in reactivity to stress between
depressed and non-depressed people: when non-depressed
people are put under stress, cortisol levels rise and fall rapidly but
depressed people have a more blunt reaction and remain under
stress for longer
- Serotonin
- Burns (2003) cannot ever find
definitive evidence as you can
never measure the levels of
neurotransmitter activity in a
living brain
- Linked to happy moods, low levels linked to MDD
- Link to successful treatment-SSRIs
- Genetics
- Twin studies
- Monozygotic (Mz) twins develop from the same
egg, and share 100% of the same DNA
- Dizygotic (Dz) twins develop from two eggs
and share only 50% of the same DNA
- Concordance rate (CR): The rate of which if one twin
has the illness, the other does.
- RESEARCH: Meta-analysis of 7 twin studies that investigate the
influence of genetic on MDD. CR Mz twins=65% Dz twins = 36%
- Meta-analysis = reliable
- If it was fully genetic, then the concordance rate would be
100%, there must be other factors influencing abnormality
- REDUCTIONIST
- Cause and effect: We are unsure if these
symptoms (e.g. low serotonin levels) are a
cause of MDD or just an effect of MDD
- Biological etiologies of bulimia as
an example of abnormality
- Genetics
- Twin studies
- Kendler et al. 1991. 2000 female twins. CR in Mz twins:
23% and Dz twins: 9%
- Relatives
- Strober 2000, females with first degree relatives with bulimia
are 10 times more likely to develop the abnormality
- This could show the influence of genetics, but it could also be a result of the
females environment. SLT as the first degree relative could be a role model.
- Bio-chemistry
- Abnormal levels of neurotransmitter
- Serotonin
- High levels of serotonin stimulate the
hypothalamus and decrease food intake
- Carraso, 2000, there are lower level
of serotonin in bulimic patients
- Nitric Oxide
- Regulates how much food we intake,
therefore controls eating behaviour
- Vannacci et al. Of 62 female participants, the plasma nitrate and
cgnp were higher in bulimia and was linked to binge eating.
- Conclusion
- Looking only at biological influences is too
reductionist. It is important too look at different
ideas that intergrate cognitive and sociocultural psychology.
- Bio-social approach
- Diathesis stress model
- Furnald and Gunnar studied mexican families
in lower socio-economic conditions
- Genetics
- Environment
- Bio-chemistry