Biopsychology of Psychiatric

Disorder 
 Schizophrenia is the disease that is most commonly associated with the concept of madness. It
attacks about 1%of individuals of all races and cultural groups, typically beginning in adolescence or
early adulthood.

Positive Symptoms
• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Inappropriate affect
• Incoherent speech or thought
• Odd behavior
Negative Symptoms
• Affective flattening
• Alogia
• Avolition
• Anhedonia
First Antischizophrenic Drugs
• Chlorpromazine
• Reserpine

Dopamine Theory of Schizophrenia

Dopamine theory of schizophrenia the theory that schizophrenia is caused by too much dopamine
and, conversely, that anti-schizophrenic drugs exert their effects by decreasing dopamine levels.
The dopamine theory of schizophrenia were two already well-established facts; First, the
antischizophrenic drug reserpine was known to deplete the brain of dopamine and other monoamines
by breaking down the synaptic vesicles in which these neuro transmitters are stored. Second, drugs
such as amphetamine and cocaine, which can trigger schizophrenic episodes in healthy subjects, were
known to increase the extracellular levels of dopamine and other monoamines in the brain .
Affective Disorders
• Depression is a normal reaction to grievous loss such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of self-esteem, or the loss of
health.
• Anhedonia (loss of the capacity to experience pleasure), often for no apparent reason. depression can be so extreme
that it is almost impossible for them to meet the essential requirements of their daily lives to keep a job, to maintain
social contacts, to eat, or even to maintain an acceptable level of personal hygiene.
Major Categories of Affective Disorders 
• Depression is an affective disorder (any psychiatric disorder characterized by disturbances of mood or
emotion).
• Mania, another affective disorder, is in some respects the opposite of depression; it is characterized by
overconfidence, impulsivity, distractibility, and high energy. Affective disorders are also commonly
known as mood disorders.
• Many depressive patients experience periods of mania. Those who do are said to suffer from bipolar
affective disorder. Those depressive patients who do not experience periods of mania are said to
suffer from unipolar affective disorder. Depression is often further divided into two categories.
Depression triggered by a negative experience (e.g., the death of a friend, the loss of a job) is called
reactive depression; depression with no apparent cause is called endogenous depression.
Antidepressant Drugs 
• Iproniazid is a monoamine agonist; it increases the levels of monoamines (e.g.,
norepinephrine and serotonin) by inhibiting the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO), the
enzyme that breaks down monoamine neurotransmitters in the cytoplasm (cellular fluid) of
the neuron. MAO inhibitors have several side effects; the most dangerous is known as the
cheese effect.
• Imipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant that blocks the reuptake of both serotonin and
norepinephrine, thus increasing their levels in the brain. They are a safer alternative to MAO
inhibitors.
• Fluoxetine is a serotonin agonists that exert agonistic effects by blocking the reuptake of
serotonin from synapses.
• Lithium is a simple metallic ion, was the first drug found to act as a mood stabilizer.
Theories of Depression 
• Monoamine Theory of Depression is the theory of depression
that is associated with underactivity at serotonergic and
noradrenergic synapses.

• Diathesis Stress Model of Depression is the theory of depression

that some people inherit a diathesis (a genetic susceptibility) is
incapable of initiating the disorder by itself.
Five Classes of Anxiety Disorders 
• Generalized anxiety disorders are characterized by stress responses and extreme feelings of
anxiety that occur in the absence of any obvious precipitating stimulus.
• Phobic anxiety disorders are similar to generalized anxiety disorders except that they are triggered
by exposure to particular objects (e.g., birds, spiders) or situations (e.g., crowds, darkness).
• Panic disorders are characterized by rapid-onset attacks of extreme fear and severe symptoms of
stress (e.g., choking, heart palpitations, shortness of breath); they are often components of
generalized anxiety and phobic disorders, but they also occur as separate disorders.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders are characterized by frequently recurring, uncontrollable, anxiety-
producing thoughts (obsessions) and impulses (compulsions). Responding to them for example, by
repeated compulsive hand washing is a means of dissipating the anxiety associated with them.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder is a persistent pattern of psychological

distress following exposure to extreme stress, such as war or being the victim
of sexual assault.
Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

• Benzodiazepines such as chlordiazepoxide (Librium) and diazepam

(Valium) are widely prescribed for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
• Serotonin agonist buspirone is widely used in the treatment of anxiety
disorders.
• Antidepressant Drugs are a class of medication used to treat major
depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to
help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants
include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, sexual
dysfunction, and emotional blunting.
Animal Models of Anxiety
Animal models have played an important role in the study of anxiety and in the assessment of the
anxiolytic potential of new drugs. Three animal behaviors that model anxiety are elevated-plus-maze
performance, defensive burying, and risk assessment.
• Elevated-plus-maze test
Rats are placed on a four-armed plus-sign-shaped mare that is 50 centimeters above the floor. Two
arms have sides and two arms have no sides, and the measure of anxiety is the proportion of time the
rats spend in the enclosed arms, rather than venturing onto the exposed arms.
• Defensive-burying test
Rats are shocked by a wire-wrapped wooden dowel mounted on the wall of a familiar test chamber.
The measure of anxiety is the amount of time the rats spend spraying bedding material from the floor
of the chamber at the source of the shock with forward thrusting movements of their head and
forepaws.
• Risk-assessment test
After a single brief exposure to a cat on the surface of a laboratory burrow system, rats flee to their
burrows and freeze. Then, they engage in a variety of risk-assessment behaviors.
Tourette Syndrome(TS)
-is a condition of the nervous system. TS causes people to have “tics”. Tics are sudden twitches,
movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly.
Treatment of Tourette Syndrome 
• Medication
1. Medications that block or lessen dopamine.
2. Botulinum (Botox) injections.
3. ADHD medications.
4. Central adrenergic inhibitors.
5. Antidepressants.
6. Antiseizure medications.
• Therapy
1. Behavior therapy
- Cognitive behavioral interventions for tics, including habit-reversal training, can help you monitor
tics, identify premonitory urges and learn to voluntarily move in a way that’s incompatible with the
tic.
2. Psychotherapy
-In addition to helping you cope with Tourette syndrome, psychotherapy can help with accompanying
problems.
3. Deep brain stimulation (DBS)
-For severe tics that don’t respond to other treatment, DBS might help. DBS involves implanting a
battery-operated medical device in the brain to deliver electrical stimulation to targeted areas that
control movement. However, this treatment is still in the early research stages and needs more
research to determine if it’s a safe and effective treatment for Tourette syndrome.
THANKYOU!