The Biological Approach - KJ

Course Material (E-Content) of Psychology
By – Dr. KHURSHID JAHAN

Deptt.of Psychology
MagadhMahila College
The Biological Approach to Clinical Psychology

Quick revise
The biological approach is based on the view that psychological disorders can
be explained in the same way as physical disorders, both have physical causesA
mental illness is similar to a physical illness.The biological approach is also
called the medical model because it is based on the idea of diagnosing physical
symptoms and providing appropriate treatments, as is done with physical
illness. The main concern of this approach is the relationship between mind and
body, the effects of mind on body and the influence of heredity on behaviour.
Bio-psychologists study many of the same things that other psychologists do,
but they are interested in looking at how biological forces shape human
behaviours. Some topics that a psychologist might explore using this
perspective include:
 Analysing how trauma to the brain influences behaviours

 Investigating how degenerative brain diseases impact how people act
 Exploring how genetic factors influence such things as aggression
 Studying how genetics and brain damage are linked to mental disorders
 Assessing the differences and similarities in twins to determine which
characteristics are tied to genetics and which are linked to environmental
influences
So, it can be said that Bio- psychologists explain human behaviour on the basis
of Genetics and Brain structure and functions.
The influence of genes on behaviour

.
It is assumed that genes have a major effect on developing mental illness.

Mental illness is the result of an inherited gene or group of genes. Evidence
comes from twin or family studies.Gottesman and Shields (1972) found that
concordance rates for schizophrenia in non-identical twins is about 9%, whereas
it rises to 42% in identical twins, indicating some environmental influence, but a
larger genetic component for the disorder. . A ‘concordance rate’ is the extent
to which two things are related, in this case how frequently both twins have the
same disorder.These genes are thought to influence the development of the
nervous system, making it vulnerable to malfunctioning in certain ways that
produce the symptoms of the disorder. • Kendler et al. (1985) found that
relatives of schizophrenics were 18 times more likely to develop the illness than
a matched control group.There is considerable evidence of a genetic
predisposition to develop schizophrenia
Neuroanatomy
The structure of the brain has sometimes been found to be different in people
with certain mental disorders. For example, Chua and McKenna (1995) reported
that the brains of schizophrenic patients were smaller and had larger ventricles
than the brains of normal individuals. Bio-psychological explanations often
focus on which brain areas are responsible for which types of thinking or
behaviour and how they connect with other functions and brain areas. For
example; Broca’s area, which controls the production of speech and Wernicke’s
area, which controls the comprehension of speech.Differences in brain structure
(abnormalities in the frontal and pre-frontal cortex, enlarged ventricles) have
been identified in people with schizophrenia.
Biochemical Abnormalities
Neurochemical imbalances in the brain are often associated with abnormal
behaviour. Many studies have found abnormal levels of certain
neurotransmitters and/or hormones in different mental disorders. For example,
depression has been linked to low levels of noradrenaline and serotonin, and
schizophrenia has been linked to high levels of dopamine. Some forms of
depression are related to disordered hormone levels, such as post-partum
depression and pre-menstrual syndrome. Abnormal brain chemistry may be the
result of faulty genes – Meyer et al. propose that the unusual form of WKL1
found in some schizophrenics may cause abnormal protein production. Or,
abnormal brain chemistry could be the effect of mental illness. Either way, the
use of drugs to return neurotransmitters or hormones to normal levels has been
shown to be effective.
Infection
.
Mental disorders may be caused by a virus or bacteria. For example, general

paresis was regarded since the 16th Century as a mental illness, but has since
been found to be caused by the syphilis bacterium. Crow (1984) proposed that
schizophrenia is caused by a retrovirus, which becomes incorporated into DNA.
Barr et al. (1990) found increased levels of schizophrenia amongst mothers who
had ‘flu’ during they were pregnant. • This suggest a possible link between
infection and schizophrenia.
Methods of treatment for Mental Disorders
1. Drug Therapy
This method is used to treat psychological disorders with medications. The main
drugs used in the treatment of depression, anxiety and OCD are mono-amine
oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Antipsychotic drugs can be used to treat schizophrenia by blocking d2
(dopamine) receptors. There are different generations of antipsychotics:
1. Typical antipsychotics – eg chlorpromazine, block d2 receptors in several
brain areas.
2. Less typical antipsychotics – egpimozide, often used as a last resort when
other drugs have failed.
3. Atypical antipsychotics – egrisperidone. Some atypicals also block
serotonin receptors.
Anti psychotics have long been established as a relatively cheap, effective

treatment, which rapidly reduce symptoms and enable many people to live
relatively normal lives (Van Putten, 1981).Between 50 – 65% of patients benefit
from drug treatments.
But this method has some weakness :
1.Drugs do not deal with the cause of the problem, they only reduce the
symptoms.
2. Anti psychotics produce a range of side effects including motor
tremors and weight gain. These lead a proportion of patients to
discontinue treatment.
3. Patients often welcome drug therapy, as it is quicker, easier and less
threatening than talk therapy.
4. Some drugs cause dependency.
5. Ethical issues including informed consent, and the dehumanizing

effects of some treatments.
2. Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT)

Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) began in the 1930s after it was noticed that
when cows are executed by electric shocks they appear to convulse as if they
are having an epileptic shock.The idea was extrapolated to humans as a
treatment for schizophrenia on the theoretical basis that nobody can have
schizophrenia and epilepsy together, so if epilepsy is induced by electric shock
the schizophrenic symptoms will be forced into submission!
It is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents
are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems
to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of
certain mental illnesses.ECT is usually given three times a week for up to 5
weeks.
It is generally used in severely depressed patients for
whom psychotherapy and medication have proven to be ineffective.It can also
be used for those who suffer from schizophrenia and manic depression.
However, Sackheim et al. (1993) found that there was a high relapse rate within
a year suggesting that relief was temporary and not a cure.
But this method has also some weakness :
1. There are many critics of this extreme form of treatment, especially of its
uncontrolled and unwarranted use in many large, under staffed mental
institutions where it may be used simply to make patients docile and
manageable or as a punishment (Breggin 1979).
2. ECT side effects include impaired language and memory as well as loss of
self esteem due to not being able to remember important personal facts or
perform routine tasks.
3. ECT is a controversial treatment, not least because the people who use it are
still unsure of how it works - a comparison has been drawn with kicking the
side of the television set to make it work.
4. There is a debate on the ethics of using ECT, primarily because it often takes
place without the consent of the individual and we don’t know how it works!
3. Psychosurgery
As a last result when drugs and ECT have apparently failed psychosurgery
is an option. This basically involves either cutting out brain nerve fibres or
burning parts of the nerves that are thought to be involved in the disorder (when
the patient is conscious).It is an invasive medical treatment that involves the
deliberate destruction of tiny amount of brain tissue in order to treat mental
illness, such as clinical depression.
Surgery is used only as a last resort, where the patient has failed to respond to
other forms of treatment and their disorder is very severe. This is because all
surgery is risky and the effects of neurosurgery can be unpredictable. Also,
there may be no benefit to the patient and the effects are
irreversible.Psychosurgery has scarcely been used as a treatment for
schizophrenia since the early 1970s when it was replaced by drug treatment.
Strength of Biological Approach :-

1. One strength of the biological approach is that it is very scientific. This is a
strength because the experiments used are measurable, objective and can be
repeated to test for reliability.
2. This approach supported by empirical evidence.
3. One strength of the biological approach is that the treatment can be used
directly.
Weakness of Biological Approach:-
1. One weakness of the biological approach is that it argues that behaviour is

caused by hormones, neurotransmitters and genetics. One theory is that
schizophrenia is genetic, however, twin studies show that it is not completely
genetic and the environment has a part to play.
2. The therapies offered by the biological approach can have serious side
effects.
3. The main limitation of the biological approach is that it may be useful in
dealing with the symptoms of mental illness but it may not be effective in
resolving the underlying causes.
4. In many cases, it is not clear whether the physical factor is actually an effect
rather than a cause.
5. The medical model may be appropriate for physical illness, but not for mental
illness where symptoms are less objective. It overlooks the fact that mental
disturbance is often defined in terms of social difficulties. In fact, Clare (1980)
pointed out that many physical illnesses also have a social-psychological
component and, therefore, the medical model may be insufficient on its own
even for physical illnesses.
6. The medical approach may prevent us understanding the true causes of
mental disorders. According to Szasz (1960), the medical model is ‘worthless
and misleading’ and ‘scientifically crippling’

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Course Material (E-Content) of Psychology

By – Dr. KHURSHID JAHAN

The Biological Approach to Clinical Psychology

 Analysing how trauma to the brain influences behaviours

The influence of genes on behaviour

It is assumed that genes have a major effect on developing mental illness.

Mental disorders may be caused by a virus or bacteria. For example, general

Methods of treatment for Mental Disorders

Anti psychotics have long been established as a relatively cheap, effective

But this method has some weakness :

4. Some drugs cause dependency.

5. Ethical issues including informed consent, and the dehumanizing

2. Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT)

Strength of Biological Approach :-

Weakness of Biological Approach:-

1. One weakness of the biological approach is that it argues that behaviour is

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