Lecture 27 Biology of Mental Disorders

Symptoms of Schizophrenia Bizarre disturbances in thought (dissociative thinking) Paranoid and grandiose delusions Auditory hallucinations Odd array of emotional changes

Dopamine hypothesis and schizophrenia Amphetamine psychosis Antipsychotic drugs Parkinson’s disease Psychotogen hypothesis

Autism Social isolation Stereotyped behaviors Resistance to change in routine Abnormal sensory responses Insensitivity to pain Inappropriate emotional expressions Disturbances of movement Speech deficits

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Hyperactivity and inattentiveness More likely in boys than girls Treated with ritalin – a dopamine reuptake inhibitor May have a genetic link….? No gross brain differences, although volume is about 4% less than normal. Also reduced blood volume in the basal ganglia

Depression Unhappy mood rather than sadness Unipolar vs. Bipolar disorders Lithium can help relieve symptoms of BP Monoamine hypothesis of depression

Drugs used to treat depression Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (inhibit the enzyme that breaks down 5-HT, NE, and DA) Tricyclics and heterocyclics (inhibits reuptake Serotonin reuptake inhibitors Marplan, Nardil, Parnate Elavil, Wellbutrin, Aventyl, Norpramin Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft

Sex differences and depression Help seeking patterns Psychosocial reasons Genetic Endocrine physiology

Anxiety Disorders Phobic disorders Anxiety states

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Left orbital gyrus Caudate nucleus of the basal ganglia Serotonin and OCD….??

Prions, mad cows, and Creutzfeldt –Jakob disease “scrapie” Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease)