Physiological Psychology and Ocd Essay

Physiological Psychology is as described by Kalat (1998) as the make of the physiologic, evolutionary, and developmental instruments of behavior and experience. It is devoted to the study of apprehensiveness sectioning, how Neurons and Glia put across messages to one another and other parts of the body for it to function and bring accordingly. hereafter studies of physiological psychology depart help predict behavioural patterns in confederation and how card functions washbasin be rewrit ten through with(predicate) cognitive therapies .e.g. alcoholism, medicate addictions.Kalat (1998) further goes onto explain that a Biological psychologist (physiological psychologist) try to react four types of questions slightly any given behaviour, how it relates to the physiology of the adept (what parts of the headspring are active) and other organs, how it develops within the individual, how did the capacity for this behaviour evolve and wherefore did this behaviour evolve.W ithout the physiological ensureing of how humor process work in relation to behaviour it is difficult to correctly diagnose a behaviour pattern and its cause.Kalat (1998) describes that having a little anxiety can be effectual, besides OCD is a condition in which there is excessive anxiety.OCD can be explained to a patient in simple physiological equipment casualty explaining the behaviour of the encephalon, for exampleOCD patients often keep back a mazed mechanism ( universe a synapse interaction) in their promontory that would chronicly stop a ciphering once you have it. In an OCD patient it does not (stop the estimation) so the thought is onlyowed to revolve. This seems in description that it would sound more(prenominal) like a broken record than OCD really does, but that isnt what really happens.OCD can be genetic but is most certainly physiological in nature. Without an understanding of hit functioning and how these neurons interact, how can psychologists work to alleviate the symptoms of the disorder? look into the biological causes and effects of OCD has revealed a link betwixt OCD and insufficient levels of the brain chemical, serotonin. Serotonin is one of the brains chemical messengers that transmit signals between brain cells. Serotonin plays a role in the regulation of mood, aggression, pulsing pull wires, sleep, appetite, body temperature and pain. For example persons with unregulated serotonin lead to destructive a neighborly behaviour patterns, which society commonly experiences on a growing scale. both of the medicines used to treat OCD raise the levels of serotonin accessible to transmit messages. Without physiological psychological explore into the effects that these medicines have on the brain society would lack the knowledge and understanding of how to diagnose and appropriately treat disorders much(prenominal) as OCD.Modern brain imaging techniques have allowed researchers to study the performance of specific areas o f the brain. Such studies have shown that people with OCD have more than usual occupation in three areas of the brain. These areThe caudate nucleus, specific brain cells in the master(a) ganglia, located deep in the centre of the brain this area of the brain acts as a filter for thoughts coming in from other areas. The caudate nucleus is also considered to be important in managing habitual and repetitive behaviours.When OCD is successfully treated with drugs or therapy, the activity in this area of the brain usually decreases. This shows that both drugs and a change in thinking can alter the forcible functioning of the brain.The prefrontal orbital cortex, located in the front area of the brain the level of activity in the prefrontal orbital cortex is believed to affect appropriate social behaviour. Lowered activity or damage in this region is link up to feeling uninhibited, making bad judgments and feeling a lack ofguilt. more activity may therefore cause more worry about socia l concerns. Such concerns include being meticulous, neat and preoccupied with cleanliness, and being afraid of acting inappropriately. All of these concerns are symptoms of OCD.The cingulate gyrus, in the centre of the brainthe cingulate gyrus is believed to contribute the emotional receipt to obsessive thoughts. This area of the brain tells you to perform compulsions to relieve anxiety. This region is highly interconnected to the prefrontal orbital cortex and the basal ganglia via a number of brain cell pathways. The basal ganglia, the prefrontal orbital cortex and the cingulate gyrus all have many another(prenominal) brain cells affected by serotonin. Researchers believe that medicines that raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages may change the level of activity in these areas of the brain. Kalat (1998) offers the intellect that drugs intended to control anxiety alter activity at amygdale synapses. superstar of the amygdalas main excitatory neuromodulators is CCK (cholecystokinin), which improvers anxiety, and the main inhibitory vector is GABA, which inhibits anxiety.Without physiological research into the how and why of brain function, people with disorders such as OCD would not be able to function normally within society. notwithstanding this type of research and study is not limited just as well as diagnosing disorders in those with suspected behavioural problems but also allows perspicacity into society as a whole and its interaction socially, emotionally and habitually. sweet and innovative studies through physiological research have shown that cognitive behavioural therapy can change activity in certain areas of the brain. The discovery could have important clinical implications on how talk therapies improve brain function and advance mental health.Researchers discovered significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain can be produced with as little as four weeks of daily therapy in patients with obsessive -compulsive disorder as produce in the journal molecular(a) Psychiatry. The study is exciting because it tells us more about how cognitive-behavioural therapy works for OCD and shows that both robust clinical improvements and changes in brain activity occur after only four weeks of intensive treatment, utter Saxena.Past studies utilize functional brain imaging studies of patients with OCD have demo that elevated activity along the frontal-sub cortical circuits of the brain decreases in response to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medications or cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, clinical improvement of OCD symptoms was expect to require up to 12 weeks of behavioural therapy or medication treatment, the ideal treatments for OCD. Only a handful of studies have looked at how therapy affects brain function, and all previous studies had examined changes over several months of treatment. Continual studies into physiological psychology will enhance clinical pract ises and provide a platform for more effectual treatment of the symptoms related to this disorder.Saxena and colleagues at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA do two novel discoveries in their study of 10 OCD patients and 12 control subjects. First of all, we discovered significant changes in brain activity entirely as the result of four weeks of intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy, said Saxena. Secondly, these changes were different than those seen in past studies after a standard 12-week therapeutic approach using SRI medications or weekly behavioural therapy. The researchers obtained positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the ten OCD patients both before and after they received four weeks of a therapy cognise as exposure and response prevention, which gradually desensitizes patients to things that provoke obsession fears or worries. However, the PET scans in this study also showed a significant increase in activity in an area of the brain called the right do rsal anterior cingulate cortex, a region involved in reappraisal and stifling of negative emotions. Increasing activity in this region corresponded to the OCD patients improvement in clinical symptoms after the four-week course of intensive therapy. It is possible to see the immense amount of information that physiological research has bought forth to society through just these examples alone.Physiological psychology is the study of the physiological basis of how we think, connecting the physical operation of the brain with what we actually say and do. It is thus concerned with brain cells, brain structures and components, brain chemistry, and how all this leads to speech and action. Further research as to how growing debilitating disorders such as OCD could be eliminated or drastically reduced in severity has weight in its importance. The research however does not stop with OCD diagnosis but has relevant importance to understand how we take in information in general from our five senses.Future studies based on OCD research could be more relevant than we think to other major issues facing society such as depression, drug addiction and mental health.It is imperative for governing bodies to fund education and research into the study of physiological psychology for this very reason.ReferencesKalat 1998 Biological PsychologyMolecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry 14, 197-205 (February 2009) doi10.1038/sj.mp.400213