Transcript Slide 1
• What would a bio-psychologist suggest to be the causes of OCD? • How might this influence their attempt to treat the disorder? We are learning about... Drug therapy for anxiety disorders We are learning how to... Describe treatments Evaluate treatments Compare and contrast treatments We need to use... Reasoning Neurotransmission • Brain activity depends on neurons (brain cells) being able to communicate with each other. This communication occurs at synapses. Source: science photo library Neurons Neuronal cell bodies Axons Synapses occur at the junctions Vesicles release neurotransmitter into synaptic cleft Neurotransmitter binds to receptors & activates them Enzymes are released to break down the neurotransmitter Excess neurotransmitter is taken up by the pre-synaptic neurone Vesicles are replenished with new & reused neurotransmitter • In OCD, synapses in some parts of the brain don’t fire often enough. How could we interfere with the process of synaptic transmission to make them fire more often? In groups of 3-4, assign the roles of: • A patient – Your job is to present symptoms of an anxiety disorder and then ultimately choose a treatment • One or two drug reps – Your job is to ‘sell’ an appropriate drug treatment • One or two psychologists – Your job is to explain the drawbacks of this treatment and then suggest an alternative therapy Let’s evaluate drug treatments • Remember TEARS... – Time – Effectiveness – Acceptability – Relapse – Side effects