1. Biological Treatments
OCD
Biological Treatments

2. Revise for mini mock (Friday 12th May)
Homework
Revise for mini mock (Friday 12th May)

3. Create 3 questions on any of the below areas in psychopathology
Phobia explanation Phobia treatment Depression explanation Definitions of abnormality Depression treatment Characteristics

4. Starter- Biological explanation of OCD
Groups 1,3, 5
Outline the genetic Explanation of OCD (4 marks)
Groups 2,4,6
Outline the Neural Explanation of OCD (4 marks)

5. Recap of the neural explanation
Complete the diagram showing the neurophysiological cause and answer the below question: Outline one neural explanation of OCD (4 marks) Extension: Create 2 multiple questions on one other explanation of OCD

6. Evaluation

7. Evidence task
Identify the evidence that supports and refutes the neural explanation
Identify the evidence that support the genetic explanation.
State how each piece of research support/refutes the explanation
Extension: Identify issues with the research and explain how it affects validity (link to explanation).

8. Evaluation of Genetic explanations and OCD
Task: Define and explain how the points relate to the genetic explanation of OCD
Nature vs. Nurture
Not 100% Concordance rates
Environmental factors
Diathesis stress model offers a more complete explanation
Biological reductionism
There is consistent evidence for genetic factors
Ignore the complexity of the disorder e.g. cognitive characteristics. Does not offer a whole explanation
Hard determinism
Behaviour is controlled by internal factors.
Neurotransmitters/genes
led to successful treatments (targeting low levels of serotonin (SSRI’s)

9. Create a PEE modal paragraph
“Outline and Evaluate the biological approach to OCD” (16 marks) Task: you have been given one of the evaluation points that we have just discussed. Your task is to indepently create a model PEE paragraph for the point.
Add all points to your essay plan

10. Evaluation
In pairs: Thinking about other approaches to explaining mental disorders, write down an alternative explanation for OCD. Ext: Which explanation for OCD do you think is the best? Why?

11. OCD
Treatments

12. Neurons and synaptic transmission
Neurons carry signals ……………… along their axon and chemically across a synapse.
A synapse is ……………..
Neurons never touch so to communicate they send chemicals across the synapse and these are picked up by the other neuron. This process is called ……………. …………….
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Individually, label this diagram on synaptic transmission:
Electronically
Two neurons pass signal from 1 neuron to another
Synaptic transmission

13. Synaptic transmission
Neuron sending the chemical signal (presynaptic neuron) Chemicals being released into the synapse Neuron picking up the chemical signal (post-synaptic neuron)
Electrical impulse
Synapse
Receptors

14. Drug therapy
The most commonly used biological therapy for anxiety disorders is drug therapy.
This therapy assumes that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain
This can be corrected by drugs, which either increase or decrease the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.

15. How drug therapies work
Using this picture and the information in your pack, write down an explanation of how SSRI’s work

16. SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)
The standard medical treatment used to tackle the symptoms of OCD are SSRIs
SSRIs work on increasing certain neurotransmitter in the brain by preventing the re-absorption of serotonin.
By preventing the re-absorption of serotonin, SSRIs effectively increase its levels in the synapse and thus continue to stimulate the post-synaptic neuron
SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)-type of antidepressant which prevent re-absorbtion and break down of serotonin so means there’s more serotonin in the brain.

17. Combining SSRIs with other treatment
Drugs are often used alongside cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
The drugs reduce the sufferer’s emotional symptoms, such as anxiety or depression
This means that the patient can then engage more effectively with CBT
Some sufferers may respond best to CBT alone without the need for medication

18. Alternatives to SSRIs
Where an SSRI is not effective after three to four months the dose can be increased or it can be combined with other drugs
Patients respond differently to different drugs and sometimes alternatives work well for some people and not at all for others
Fluoxetine-a type of SSRI
Tricyclics - have the same affect as SSRI’s but have much worst side effects so only used if the above do not work.
SNRI’s- newly developed anti depressant that increase serotonin and noradrenaline.

19. Research your topic and present back
1. How could Biological therapies for OCD be seen as effective?
2. How could Biological therapies for OCD be seen as appropriate?
3 How could Biological therapies for OCD be seen as ineffective?
4 How could Biological therapies for OCD be seen as inappropriate?

20. Are drug treatments effective and appropriate at treating OCD?
Debate this question
Are drug treatments effective and appropriate at treating OCD?

21. Evaluations Drug therapy is effective at tackling OCD symptoms
There is clear research to suggest that SSRIs are effective in reducing the severity of OCD symptoms (Soomro: 2009)
Drugs are cost-effective and non-disruptive
Drug treatments are cheap in comparison to psychological treatments and, unlike psychotherapy, they are non-disruptive to patients’ lives
Drugs can have side-effects
Although the use of drugs is effective for most, a significant minority receive no benefit and/or may suffer side-effects: weight gain, dry mouth, sexual dysfunction and loss of memory. Coming off a drug is a slow process in which the dosage has to be gradually reduced over a period of six months – risk of relapse.

22. Evaluations Unreliable evidence for drug treatments
If drug companies sponsor the research they may decide to supress any results that do not support the drug they are marketing. Currently many drug companies do not publish all of their results and may indeed be supressing evidence. This suggests that the data on the effectiveness of drugs may not be trustworthy.
Some cases of OCD follow trauma
Although OCD is widely believed to be biological in origin, it is also accepted that OCD can have different causes. There is a case for proposing that cases of OCD where there is no family history of OCD, but there is a relevant life event, should be treated differently from those where there is a family history and no trauma. It may be that for these cases drugs are not appropriate.

23. Essay
Describe and evaluate the biological approach to the treatment of OCD (12 marks – AS/16 marks A level)

24. Plenary: Individually, answer the following
SSRI’s significiantly reduce symptoms in around 70% of patients (Sansone 2011). This means that alternative treatments are needed for the remaining 30%.
Bogetto et al (2000) trialled a drug called Olanzapine with 23 patients who had not responded to SSRI’s. 10 of these patients responded to the Olanzapine. The mean symptom rating improved from 26.8 on the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsion Scale.
Write a non-directional hypothesis for this study (2 marks)
Briefly explain one ethical issue the researchers should take account of in carrying out the study and explain how they could deal with this (2 +2 marks).