Brain scans can be used to help diagnose some disorders. Furthermore, the genes we are born with, from our parents, provide the blueprint for our bodies and brains. A slight abnormality in our genes can affect the functioning of our brains. Also to operate properly the brain relies on hundreds of chemicals to operate in the correct balance, these chemicals are used to send messages around the brain. Therefore if there are chemical imbalances abnormality may occur, for example low levels of serotonin are linked to depression and schizophrenia is linked with high levels of dopamine.
The Biological Approach to Abnormality The biological approach to abnormality mainly looks at the human body and uses it to explain why certain people show abnormal behaviours or disorders. Psychologists believe that genetics may be the cause of abnormality but in order to test this they must look at twins, they study monozygotic and dizygotic twins and look at the concordance rate to see if both twins have the same disorder. They use twins to look at genetics because they share mostly the same genes meaning in theory if an abnormality is due to genes then both twins will show signs of the abnormality. The second part of the body psychologists look at is the brain, by performing brain scans on people who do not show abnormalities and people who do show abnormality they can see if there is a physical difference in brain structure that could be cause of the disorder. For example people with schizophrenia are believed to have this disorder because they have a bigger gaps in their brains due to the shrinkage of brain tissue.
In fact, the ancient Greeks had recognised that abnormalities such as epilepsy might be caused by brain disorders, but it was not until physiologists like von Haller and Greisinger argued that the brain played a crucial role in causing abnormal behaviour that the biological approach ‘took off’. The biological approach to the causes of abnormality The biological approach sees abnormality as being caused by physical factors. The three physical factors are: (1) Brain damage (2) Faulty regulation of brain biochemistry (3) Genetic factors Brain damage: Early support for the biological approach came from studies of patients suffering from a condition called 'general paresis of the insane'. This condition is characterised by delusions of grandeur and mental deterioration. However, far from being caused by 'demonic possession', research showed that its causes were biological (it occurs if syphilis is left untreated - the syphilis bacterium makes its way to the brain and causes damage to it).
These findings support the biological explanation as it suggests that depression has a genetic factor. However, as all the pairs twins which were used in the study were raised in the same environment, the depression may have been learned or copied from another family member; therefore, this piece of research cannot be seen as valid. Also, this study could be said to lack reliability as it used a small sample size. Furthermore McGuffin et al’s research could be seen as reductionists as they are over simplifying the complexities of depression. In addition to this, some psychologists also argue that the genetic explanation to depression is deterministic as it claims that if an individual’s family members have depression, then they are definitely going to have depression.
This is how scientist have been able to come up with medication to treat mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. They have proven that there is a connection with genes and chemical changes in the brain that causes theses illnesses in the mind but with the right treatment, it can adjust the changes and chases the illness away. What is the historical development of biological psychology? While psychology is very broad, it is important to know the history of biological psychology because some of the past experiences have shaped into this school of thought to what it is today by providing us with a better
Describe and evaluate biological explanations for schizophrenia: Genetics have been identified as one possible explanation for schizophrenia. For instance, Miyakawa studied DNA from human families affected by schizophrenia and found that those with the disease were more likely to have a defective version of a gene, called PPP3CC which is associated with the production of calcineurin which regulates the immune system. Also, research by Sherrington has found a gene located on chromosome 5 which has been linked in a small number of extended families where they have the disorder. Family studies investigate genetic transmission of schizophrenia; studies compare rates of schizophrenia in relatives of diagnosed cases compared to relatives of
The use of twin studies helps explain how there could be genetic factors in aggressive behavior. There are two types of Twin, monozygotic (identical) and Dizygotic (non-identical). If both types are studied in terms of aggression and the M-Z twins are more similar in aggressive behaviour it would suggest there is a genetic influence on aggression. Coccaro et al found that when comparing MZ and DZ twins, over 50 % of variance in aggressive behaviours between MZ twins could be attributed to genetic factors. Additionally the use of adoption studies can contribute to our understanding of genetic factors in aggression.
Pinel, biological psychology “is the scientific study of the biology of behavior.” Essentially biological psychology; also known as behavioral neuroscience, looks at the biological reasons for psychological differences. For example, fetal alcohol syndrome which is a biological effect of drinking while pregnant can and often does influence the psychological development of the fetus. This in turn results in slowed learning and poor behavioral patterns, which is no fault of the child. 2) What is the historical development of biological psychology? Biopsychology was historically developed in the 20th century; though no one is certain of the exact date, according to Pinel.
Damage to these areas of the brain can change a person’s behaviour for example damage to the frontal lobe can affect personality. Another assumption of the biological approach is behaviour can be explained in terms of hormones. Hormones regulate different behaviours. Hormones are biochemical substances that are produced by endocrine glands such as pituitary glands and adrenal glands. Hormones are transported through the blood stream to various organs and tissues.
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex disorder, for which biological explanations have been put forward, with varying degrees of success. One biological explanation which has been proposed for SZ is the Dopamine Hypothesis. This theory suggests that SZ results from over-activity in the brain dopamine (DA) systems. The excess in the brain’s DA systems is both an excess of DA being released from neurons into the synapse, and an excess of DA receptors, meaning that the excess DA released is absorbed into the nervous system. Schizophrenic patients also tend to have increased DA sensitivity, meaning that even if their brain’s DA systems were working at a ‘normal’ level their symptoms might still be present.