CURRENT PARADIGMS - Genes do not operate

IN PSYCHOPATHOLOGY in isolation from the

AND RESEARCH environment. Instead,
METHODS throughout the life
span, the environment
Paradigm
shapes how our genes
- A conceptual are expressed.
framework or approach
- Nature Vs Nurture.
within which a scientist
works. Heritability
- A set of basic - Heritability estimates
assumptions, a general range from 0.0 to 1.0:
perspective, that the higher the number,
defines how to the greater the
conceptualize and study heritability.
a subject, how to gather
- Heritability is relevant
and interpret relevant
only for a large
data, even how to think
population of people,
about a particular
not a particular
subject.
individual. The
Genetic Paradigm principles of heredity.
- Almost all behavior is
heritable to some
degree (i.e., involves
genes). How about
environment?
  Shared - Offspring therefore
environment inherit one genetic
factors include allele from each parent
those things that when sex cells unite in
members of a fertilization.
family have in
The Law of
common.
Independent
 Nonshared
Assortment
environment
(sometimes - Genes for different
referred to as traits are sorted
unique separately from one
environment) another so that the
factors are those inheritance of one trait
things believed is not dependent on the
to be distinct inheritance of another.
among members
The Law of Dominance
of a family.
- An organism with
The Law of Segregation
alternate forms of a
- Each inherited trait is gene will express the
defined by a gene pair.
form that is dominant.
- Parental genes are
 Genotype - refer
randomly separated to
to the two
the sex cells so that sex
alleles a person
cells contain only one
has inherited for
gene of the pair.
 a particular Neuroscience Paradigm
gene.
- Holds that mental
 Phenotypes -
disorders are linked to
the detectable
aberrant processes in
expression an
the brain.
organism.
Neurons
Gene- Environment
Interaction - Impulses travel from
dendrite to cell body to
- A gene–environment
axon.
interaction means that
a given person’s Three types of Neurons
sensitivity to an
 Sensory neurons
environmental event is
 Motor neurons
influenced by genes.
 Interneurons
- Reciprocal gene–
Impulses
environment
interaction. The basic  Excitability is the
idea is that genes may ability of a
predispose us to seek neuron to
out certain respond to the
environments that then stimulus and
increase our risk for convert it into a
developing a particular nerve impulse.
disorder.  Conductivity –
the ability of
neurons to relay
 impulse from Stimulus-Response
one point in the Sequence
body to another.
1. A stimulus
 All or Nothing
strikes a
Rule receptor.
Synapse 2. The receptor
- Small gap or space stimulates the
sensory neurons.
between the axon of
one neuron and the 3. The impulses
dendrite of another crosses the
synaptic junction
- It is junction and stimulates
between neurons the connector
which uses neuron in the
neurotransmitters to Spinal Cord.
start the impulse in
4. The impulse
the second neuron
passes from the
or an effector
connector
(muscle or gland) neuron to an
Neurotransmitters outgoing
neuron.
- Chemicals in the
5. An effector
junction which allow
responds.
impulses to be
started in the
second neuron.
Brain information to various
brain regions.
Regions of the Brain
Hypothalamus–
Cerebellum –
involved in regulating
coordination of
activities internal
movement
organs, monitoring
Cerebrum – conscious information from the
activity including autonomic nervous
perception, emotion, system, controlling the
thought, and planning. pituitary gland, and
regulating sleep and
Brainstem – medulla, appetite.
pons, and
mesencephalon Cerebrum
(involuntary responses)
Cerebral Cortex - is the
and relays information
layer of the brain often
from spine to upper
referred to as gray
brain
matter because it has
Medulla – vital reflexes cell bodies and synapses
as heartbeat and but no myelin. The
respiration cortex consists of folded
bulges called gyri that
Pons – also involve in create deep furrows or
the control of breathing fissures called sulci.
and balance.
Medullary body – is the
Thalamus – Brain’s white matter of the
switchboard – filters cerebrum and consists
and then relays of myelinated axons.
Commissural fibers - complex visual
conduct impulses perceptions
between the
Occipital – visual center
hemispheres and form
– plays a role in
corpus callosum.
processing visual
Projection fibers - information.
conduct impulse in and
Special Region of the
out of the cerebral
Brain
hemispheres.
Broca’s area - important
Association fibers -
in the production of
conduct impulses within
speech
the hemispheres.
Wernicke’s area -
Basal ganglia - masses
comprehension of
of gray matter in each
language
hemisphere which are
involved in the control Limbic System - a group
of voluntary muscle of brain that help
movements. regulate the expression
of emotions and
Frontal – motor area
memory.
involved in movement
and in planning & Amygdala - regulates
coordinating behavior emotions, survival
instincts, and memory.
Parietal – sensory
processing, attention, Hippocampus -
and language regulation of learning
and memory.
Temporal – auditory
perception, speech, and Septum Pellucidum
Neuroscience - Once the source of
Approaches to reinforcement has been
Treatment identified, treatment is
then tailored to alter
- The use of
the consequences of the
psychoactive drugs has
problem behavior.
been increasing
dramatically. - Focuses on how
people structure their
- Drug is found that
experiences, how they
influences symptoms,
make sense of them,
and then researchers
and how they relate
are inspired to study the
their current
neurotransmitters
experiences to past
influenced by that drug.
ones that have been
 Agonist drugs - stored in memory.
Drugs that mimic
Cognitive restructuring
the same action
is a general term for
of that NT.
changing a pattern of
 Antagonist thought.
drugs - blocks
the actions of - Emphasize the role of
the NT. the unconscious in
human behavior and
Cognitive Behavioral psychopathology and
Paradigm cognitive
- Problem behavior is neuroscientists have
likely to continue if it is more recently explored
reinforced. how the brain supports
behavior that is outside
conscious awareness – RESEARCH METHODS IN
Implicit Memory. PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
The Biopsychosocial The Scientific Method
Model
1) Ask questions
Biological Forces - and be willing to
Include all genetic and wonder.
health-related factors
2) Generate a
that affect human
research
development.
question or
Psychological Forces - identify a
Include all internal problem to
perceptual, cognitive, investigate.
emotional, and
3) Attempt to
personality factors that
explain the
affect human
phenomena we
development.
wish to study.
Social Forces - Reflect
4) Test the
the differences in how
hypothesis.
the same events affect
people of different ages. - Observation
- Experimentation
- Measurement

5) Interpret the
results.
 6) Draw Surveys/Self Report
conclusions
- This is a questionnaire
carefully.
consisting of at least
7) Communicate one scale with some
our findings to questions used to assess
the broader a psychological
scientific construct of interest.
community.
Correlational Research
Naturalistic and
- This research method
Laboratory Observation
examines the ↑ Positive
- Naturalistic relationship between ↓ Negative
Observation. two variables or two
No
groups of variables. Correlational
-Laboratory
Observation. - Epidemiological study
in which the prevalence
Case Studies
and incidence of a
- Psychology can also disorder in a specific
utilize a detailed population are
description of one measured.
person or a small group
- Incidence is a measure
based on careful
of the number of new
observation.
cases of a characteristic
- The advantage of this that develop in a
method is that you population in a specified
arrive at a detailed time period.
description of the
- Prevalence is the
investigated behavior.
proportion of a
population who have a single-subject
specific characteristic in experimental design or
a given time period, the ABAB Design.
regardless of when they
Multi-Method Research
first developed the
characteristic. - Approaches are
typically employed at
Experiments
different stages of the
- This is a controlled test research study
of a hypothesis in which
a researcher
manipulates one
variable and measures
its effect on another
variable.
 Independent
variable vs
Dependent
Variable
 Control group vs
Experimental
group
- The study of mental
illness does not always
afford us a large sample
of participants to study,
so we have to focus on
one individual using a