Explaining Ellen’s Depression and Suicidality 1. What genetic factors might play a role in Ellen’s depression? 2. What biochemical factors might play a role in Ellen’s depression? 3a.What would a psychodynamic theorist say about the origins of Ellen’s depression?
It was found that having an identical twin with schizophrenia gave you a 48% chance of developing the condition. This reduced to 17% in non-identical twins. They concluded that schizophrenia has a strong genetic basis, however, if it was entirely down to genetics, we would expect this figure to be 100% for identical twins. The meta analysis was carried out on field experiments, so has high ecological validity. The fact that both twins wouldn’t always develop schizophrenia means that another factor must be involved, for example family environment.
The biological explanations for depression centre on the mood disorder being biologically caused. Genetic factors suggest that you are born with a biological weakness which makes you unable to resist stressors, which consequently leads to depression. This is known as the diathesis stress model. The main piece of research that supports this comes from the Maudsley Hospital twin register, where concordance rates of 46% were found in MZ twins and 20% in DZ twins. This suggest that depression must be passed on through genes if there is a high concordance rate between twins which share the same genetic makeup both having depression.
In terms of biochemistry, chemical imbalances in the brain may be involved in certain mental illnesses. Neurotransmitters, for example, play a very important part in behaviour – one theory links depression to low levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline. However, the relationship between neurotransmitters and depression is very complex and therefore, more research is needed to discover the exact link between this and the disorder. People suffering from depression, also often have high levels of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is sometimes referred to as a ‘stress hormone’ because it is produced in times of stress.
Gaining greater understanding how the limbic system and other areas of the brain operate is essential to identifying potential obstructions that disallow the normal flow of chemicals/communication within the brain, which may cause a person to become depressed. Additionally, hormones levels are another biological factor which can lead to depression. Imbalances of cortical, for example, such as an excess amount or uneven distribution over a period of time have been noticed in depressed patients (Sahelian,
So again strongly suggests that low activity noradrenaline, is a factor contributing to the cause of depression. Support for this explanation has also come from research studies. Findings from psychologists , have led to the idea that depression is caused by a depletion of these naimes , especially serotonin and noradrenaline (in which I have discussed), however this idea is too simplistic, when infact its more complex than that. A example of why it is more complex is from the original theory, is that anti depressants do
Because of the way the disease is inherited, it is much more likely for a male to obtain the disease because they have only one X chromosome, whereas females have two so it would be more difficult for them to receive it on both of their chromosomes. According to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, more than half of the cases of Duchenne disorder are inherited from the mother. This is because it is likely for a mother to be a carrier by the gene, but they are not typically affected by the disorder. Looking at it that way, the son of a carrier has a fifty-fifty chance of being affected while the daughter has a fifty-fifty chance of being a carrier alone. According to the same source, quite a small amount of female carriers experience a very small degree of muscle weakness
Discuss the function of research in a chosen area of interests Is there link between dementia and depression? In this task I'm going to analyse the link between depression and dementia, what impact have it on peoples lives such as quality of life and what is the function of research in this area. As a researchers work to reveal background of dementia disease the most interesting area of research is depression and its connection to dementia. People who have significant depression are more likely to develop depression further in life as well people with dementia who suffer from depression. If it’s left untreated it makes them even more confused and forgetful which affect quality of of life even more.The research in this particularly
Withdrawal: is another phenomenon associated with mood-altering experiences. A series of temporary physical and biopsychsocial symptoms that occurs when an addict abruptly abstains from an addictive chemical or behavior. The Physiology of Addiction: Virtually all intllectual, emotional, and behavioral functions occur as a result of biochemical interactions between nerve cells in the body. The Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction: Theory of the relationship between an addict's biological(genetic) nature and psychological and environmental influences. The Biopsychosocial Model of Addiciton was developed to explain the complex interaction between the biological, psychological, and social aspects of addiction.
Essay Plan Biological Explanations of Schizophrenia 1. Describe in some detail the genetic factors- family studies- Gottesman found that schizophrenia is more common among biological relatives of a person with schizophrenia and also that the closer the degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk. For instance, children with 2 schizophrenic parents have a concordance rate of 46%, children of one schizophrenic parent 13% and siblings 9%. Although this could be due to common rearing patterns or other factors not relating to heredity. Twin studies- Joseph calculated concordance rates of 40.4% for MZ twins and 7.4% for DZ twins.