Chapter 2
An Integrative Approach to
Psychopathology
One-Dimensional vs. Multidimensional
Models
• One-dimensional Models
– Explain behavior in terms of a single cause
• Multidimensional Models
– Interdisciplinary
– Abnormal behavior results from multiple influences
– Biological
– Behavioral
– Emotional
– Social & cultural
– Developmental
Genetic Contributions to
Psychopathology
• Phenotype vs. genotype
• Nature of genes
– Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) – the double helix
– 23 pairs of chromosomes
– Dominant vs. recessive genes
– Development and behavior is often polygenetic
• Genetic contribution to psychopathology
– Less than 50%
Genes: Their Location and
Composition
Nucleus
Cell
Chromosome
Gene
DNA
The Interaction of Genetic and
Environmental Effects
• Eric Kandel and gene-environment
interactions
• The diathesis-stress model
– Examples:
– Blood-injury-injection phobia
– alcoholism
The Interaction of Genetic and
Environmental Effects
• Reciprocal gene-environment model
– Examples: depression, impulsivity
• Epigenetics and the Non-genomic inheritance
of behavior
– Genes are not the whole story
– Environmental influences may override genetics
Neuroscience Contributions to
Psychopathology
• The field of neuroscience
– The role of the nervous system in disease and
behavior
Branches of Nervous System
2.1 What are the nervous system, neurons and nerves?
CENTRAL
Brain
PERIPHERAL
Spinal Chord
Autonomic
Para
Somatic
Sympathetic
Autonomic NS: Sympathetic Division
“Fight or flight”
Autonomic NS: Parasympathetic Division
“Rest and digest”
Structure of the Neuron
Axon
Axon terminal
(synaptic knob)
Cell body
(soma)
Dendrites
Myelin
Major Neurotransmitters and Their
Functions
Involved in mood, sleep, and
appetite
Involved in learning, memory
formation, nervous system
development, and synaptic
plasticity
Involved in sleep and
inhibits movement
Glutamate
Dopamine
Neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine
Norepinephrine
Involved in arousal
and mood
Involved in pain relief
Involved in control of
movement and sensations
of pleasure
Involved in arousal,
attention, memory, and
controls muscle
contractions
The Synapse
Nerve
impulse
Synaptic knob
of presynaptic
neuron
Synaptic
vesicle
Synapse
Neurotransmitters
Surface of
postsynaptic
neuron
Receptor
site
Lock & Key Mechanism
Neurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the
receiving neuron in a key-lock mechanism.
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Neuroscience: Functions of Main Types
of Neurotransmitters
• Functions of Neurotransmitters
– Agonists, antagonists, and inverse agonists
– Most drugs are either agonistic or antagonistic
Agonists
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Antagonists
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Cleaning Up the Synapse
The Four Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
The Endocrine System
Neuroscience: Peripheral Nervous and
Endocrine Systems
• The Endocrine System
– Hormones
• The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenalcortical
axis (HPA axis)
– Integration of endocrine and nervous system
function
Implications of Neuroscience for
Psychopathology
• Relations between brain and abnormal
behavior
– Example: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Psychosocial influences
– Can change brain structure and function
Implications of Neuroscience for
Psychopathology
• Therapy
– Also can change brain structure and function
– Medications and psychotherapy
• Psychosocial factors
– Interact with brain structure and function
The Contributions of Behavioral and
Cognitive Science
• Conditioning and cognitive processes
– Respondent and operant learning
– Learned helplessness
– Social learning
• Modeling and observational learning
– Prepared learning
Classical Conditioning - an organism learns to connect
or associate stimuli.
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The Contributions of Behavioral and
Cognitive Science
• Cognitive science and the unconscious
– Implicit memory
– Blind sight
– Stroop paradigm
The Role of Emotion in
Psychopathology
• The nature of emotion
– To elicit or evoke action
– Action tendency different from affect and mood
– Intimately tied with several forms of
psychopathology
The Role of Emotion in
Psychopathology
• Components of emotion
– Behavior, physiology, and cognition
– Example of fear
• Harmful side of emotional dysregulation
– Anger, hostility, emotional suppression, illness,
and psychopathology
Cultural, Social, and Interpersonal
Factors in Psychopathology
• Cultural factors
– Influence the form and expression of behavior
• Gender effects
– Exert a strong and puzzling effect on
psychopathology
• Social effects on health and behavior
– Frequency and quality important
– Related to mortality, disease, and
psychopathology
Life-Span and Developmental
Influences Over Psychopathology
• Life-span developmental perspective
– Addresses developmental changes
– Influence and constrain what is normal and
abnormal
• The principle of equifinality
– From developmental psychopathology
– Several paths to a given outcome