AQA A Level Psychopathology LATEST 2022

AQA A Level Psychopathology LATEST 2022Biological explanation of OCD All psychological phenomena and can be explained through biological processes such as genes neurochemistry or brain structure Characteristics of OCD Behavioural - compulsion, actions must be carried out Cognitive - intrusive repetitive thoughts Emotional - anxiety Biological explanation for OCD - genetics Proposes there is a genetic component to OCD which gives people a predisposition to the illness Specific genes lead to an altering of a specific neurotransmitter responsible for specific symptoms Candidate genes The genes which through research have been implicated in the development of OCD SERT - Regulating serotonin, a neurotransmitter which facilitates messages and transfers across synapses COMT - Regulates the production of dopamine = an increase in compulsions What happens when there is too little serotonin? Linked to anxious thoughts aka obsessions Most likely to see this occurring in the OFC What happens when there is too much dopamine? Affects and individuals ability to stop carrying out compulsive behaviour Evidence from twin studies MZ twins have 100% identical DNA and DZ twins have 50% Genetic link - members of the family sharing the OCD condition Found MZ twins - 68% concordance DZ twins - 31% concordance Suggests genetic relation increases the risk of OCD HOWEVER MZ twins don't have 100% so must be environmental factors also Polygenic OCD is thought to be polygenic this means that its development is not determined by a single gene but a few - this means that there is little predictive power from this explanation PEC paragraph for environmental factors P - individuals may gain a vulnerability towards OCD through genes that is when triggered by an environmental stressor E - over half the OCD patients in their sample had a traumatic event in the past and that OCD was more severe with those with more trauma C - this means that it may be more productive to focus on environmental causes as it seems that not all OCD is entirely genetic Not enough on its own The role of Neurotransmitters Allows medication to be developed which helps sufferers BUT Drugs are not completely effective and just because administering SSRIs decreases OCD symptoms does not mean that this was the cause in the first place Neuroanatomy Orbitofrontal cortex = involved in decision-making and worry about social and other behaviours, with OCD the thalamus are believed to be overactive Results in increased anxiety and increase planning to avoid anxiety Thalamus = functions include cleaning checking and other safety behaviours, an overactive thalamus would result in increase motivation to clean or check for safety Phobia Irrational fear of stimuli and extreme fear OCD A condition characterised by obsessions and or compulsive behaviour, obsessions are cognitive whereas compulsions are behavioural Negative triad Beck propose that there are three kinds of negative thinking that contribute to becoming depressed, negative views of the world, the future and self Faulty information-processing When depressed people attend to the negative aspects of a situation and ignore the positives Example - if I was depressed and won £1 million in the lottery I might focus on the fact that the previous week someone had won 10 million Negative self schema A schema is a package of ideas and information developed through experience, they act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information A self schema is what people think about themselves, a depressed person will always see themselves in a negative light Statistical infrequency A behaviour that is statistically infrequent does not happen very often Example = high IQ