Module 54: The Biomedical Therapies Therapy Unit 14

Drug Therapies Biomedical Therapy: Using drugs or psychosurgery to alter the brain’s functioning. Psychopharmacology: the study of drug effects on mind and behavior. Four types of drugs: – Antipsychotic Drugs – Antianxiety Drugs – Antidepressant Drugs – Mood Stabilizing Drugs

Drug Therapies Antipsychotic Drugs Drugs that help block irrelevant stimuli. (Thorazine, Clozapine, etc.) Helps schizophrenics block hallucinations and paranoia. Works by blocking dopamine. Too much dopamine contributes to schizophrenia.

Drug Therapies Antipsychotic Drugs Long term use can produce tardive dyskinesia. Tardive Dyskinesia: problems with walking, drooling, and involuntary muscle spasms. These problems can cause patients to stop taking medication, resulting in a return of psychotic symptoms.

Drug Therapies Antianxiety Drugs Drugs, such as Xanax, slows down the central nervous system. Combined with therapy, can help a patient learn to cope with anxiety causing situations. Popularity has increased, but taking them too much can cause dependence.

Drug Therapies Antidepressant Drugs Drugs that lift people from a state of depression. Increases serotonin, which is involved with mood and arousal. Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil are most popular form. Side effects include dry mouth, weight gain, dizzy spells, etc.

Drug Therapies Mood Stabilizing Drugs Lithium is a drug that stabilizes mood. It is used mainly for patients with bipolar disorder. Effective for 70% of people with bipolar disorder. Depakote is another mood stabilizing drug that works!

Brain Stimulation Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) ECT: shocking the brain with electricity! Used to treat severe depression. Surprisingly high success rate of treating depression. Reduces suicidal thoughts. rTMS is an alternative that uses powerful magnets instead of shock.

Psychosurgery Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to change behavior. Last resort, least used biomedical treatment. Lobotomy: cutting nerves connecting frontal lobes with emotion centers of the inner brain. Used on violent patients.

Psychosurgery Lobotomy Founded by Egas Moniz. Surgeon would hammer a steel rod through the eye socket into the brain. Next they would wiggle the rod to sever connections to the frontal lobe. Moniz won a Nobel Prize for this.

Psychosurgery Lobotomy Produced a permanent zombielike personality. In the 1950s, about 35,000 people were lobotomized in the US. No longer used, but other psychosurgery for illnesses like epilepsy are still used, though rarely.

Lobotomy Video