martes, 7 de diciembre de 2010

Biological couses of violence

First, the biological causes. These are the easiest to talk about, because there is not much to say.
Many biological factors have been nominated as candidates for causes of violence. Hormones like testosterone, transmitters in the brain like serotonin, and blood abnormalities like hypoglycemia are only a few that have been mentioned.
Biological factors do not have to be hereditary. They could be caused by a head injury, poor nutrition, or environmental events, such as exposure to lead paint.
Fortunately, the National Academy of Sciences just reviewed hundreds of studies on the relationship between biology and violence, and it came to one clear bottom-line conclusion: "No patterns precise enough to be considered reliable biological markers for violent behavior have yet been identified."  The National Academy of Sciences found many promising leads that should be vigorously pursued by researchers, but so far, it could point to nothing as a proven, or even close to proven, biological risk factor for future violence.

This means that There are only a few reasons why people tend to be violent on the world coused by the biological factors. This factor has the least couses for example it does not have to be coused by hereditary problems coused by the mother or the father. Some of thif factors can ocur after an acident or some sort of problem. some of them can be coused by problems during pregnency and many other problems likle this one. there is no patern determined percisely how this works out. unfortunetly this problems cannot chage and this might be soimthing all humans have problems with this only that some are more likely to expose themselves than others.


http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/the-causes-of-violence/blog-263921/

martes, 2 de noviembre de 2010

1. Explain the biological causes of depression.
.
Additional research data indicate that people suffering from depression have imbalances of neurotransmitters, natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with one another. Two transmitters implicated in depression are serotonin and norepinephrine. Scientists think a deficiency in serotonin may cause the sleep problems, irritability, and anxiety associated with depression. Likewise, a decreased amount of norepinephrine, which regulates alertness and arousal, may contribute to the fatigue and depressed mood of the illness.
Other body chemicals also may be altered in depressed people. Among them is cortisol, a hormone that the body produces in response to stress, anger, or fear. In normal people the level of cortisol in the bloodstream peaks in the morning, then decreases as the day progresses. In depressed people, however, cortisol peaks earlier in the morning and does not level off or decrease in the afternoon or evening.
Researchers don't know if these imbalances cause the disease or if the illness gives rise to the imbalances. They do know that cortisol levels will increase in anyone who must live with long-term stress.
2. Explain the environmental causes of depression
Certain environmental situations, such as stress or breakup of important attachments, also may precipitate depression, especially in vulnerable persons.
Research continues to better understand the interaction of genes and environment, and precisely what is inherited.

3. Explain the cognitive causes of depression.
Cognitive theories rose to prominence in response to the early behaviorists' failure to take thoughts and feelings seriously. The cognitive movement did not reject behavioral principles, however. Rather, the idea behind the cognitive movement was to integrate mental events into the behavioral framework. Cognitive Behavioral theories (sometimes called "cognitive theories") are considered to be "cognitive" because they address mental events such as thinking and feeling. They are called "cognitive behavioral" because they address those mental events in the context of the learning theory that was the basis for the pure behavioral theory described above. The rise in popularity of cognitive behaviorism continues today; it forms the basis of the most dominant and well-research formed of psychotherapy available today: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT.
Cognitive behavioral theorists suggest that depression results from maladaptive, faulty, or irrational cognitions taking the form of distorted thoughts and judgments. Depressive cognitions can be learned socially (observationally) as is the case when children in a dysfunctional family watch their parents fail to successfully cope with stressful experiences or traumatic events. Or, depressive cognitions can result from a lack of experiences that would facilitate the development of adaptive coping skills.
According to cognitive behavioral theory, depressed people think differently than non-depressed people, and it is this difference in thinking that causes them to become depressed. For example, depressed people tend to view themselves, their environment, and the future in a negative, pessimistic light. As a result, depressed people tend to misinterpret facts in negative ways and blame themselves for any misfortune that occurs. This negative thinking and judgment style functions as a negative bias; it makes it easy for depressed people to see situations as being much worse than they really are, and increases the risk that such people will develop depressive symptoms in response to stressful situations.

4. Explain the "cognitive triad" as it relates to depression.
Beck's cognitive triad is a triad of types of negative thought present in depression proposed by Aaron Beck in 1976. The triad forms part of his Cognitive Theory Of Depression.
The triad involves negative thoughts about:
  1. The self (i.e., self is worthless)
  2. The world/environment (i.e., world is unfair), and
  3. The future (i.e., future is hopeless).
http://www.healthyplace.com/depression/main/causes-of-depression/menu-id-943/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beck's_cognitive_triad
1. Explain the biological causes of depression.

Depression

1. Explain the biological causes of depression.
Additional research data indicate that people suffering from depression have imbalances of neurotransmitters, natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with one another. Two transmitters implicated in depression are serotonin and norepinephrine. Scientists think a deficiency in serotonin may cause the sleep problems, irritability, and anxiety associated with depression. Likewise, a decreased amount of norepinephrine, which regulates alertness and arousal, may contribute to the fatigue and depressed mood of the illness.
Other body chemicals also may be altered in depressed people. Among them is cortisol, a hormone that the body produces in response to stress, anger, or fear. In normal people the level of cortisol in the bloodstream peaks in the morning, then decreases as the day progresses. In depressed people, however, cortisol peaks earlier in the morning and does not level off or decrease in the afternoon or evening.
Researchers don't know if these imbalances cause the disease or if the illness gives rise to the imbalances. They do know that cortisol levels will increase in anyone who must live with long-term stress

2. Explain the environmental causes of depression
Synthetic chemicals, in the form of food additives and preservatives, pesticides, hormones and drugs, and industrial byproducts, are bombarding our bodies at an unprecedented rate. In this article, we use the term "environmental causes" to describe environmental contributions to depression which are present in our environment in the form of air, water and food pollution. Other non-chemical sources of environmental stress include noise pollution, electrical pollution natural disasters, and other catastrophic environmental events. Although some authors consider events like childhood abuse, prolonged stress at home or work, coping with the loss of a loved one, or traumatic events as environmental, we classify them as social and relational causes of depression.

3. Explain the cognitive causes of depression.
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=13012&cn=5
http://www.healthyplace.com/depression/main/causes-of-depression/menu-id-943/

viernes, 22 de octubre de 2010

paranoid-type schizophrenia: may have delusions that one or more people are plotting against them or their loved ones. It is difficult or impossible for others to convince them that they are not the target of a plot. People with this condition may spend a lot of time thinking about how to protect themselves from the person or people they believe are trying to harm them.  Is marked primarily by delusions that follow a theme, like persecution or grandeur. Auditory hallucinations may accompany a delusion and are, therefore, usually related to its theme. Symptoms common to other subtypes, like disorganized speech and flattened affect, are not usually prominent in episodes of paranoia, but anger, irritability, and extreme anxiety are. People suffering from paranoid delusions become particularly preoccupied with them and may be especially prone to violence.


disorganized-type schizophrenia: type of schizophrenia in which behavior is disturbed and has no purpose. Is marked by disorganized speech, behavior, and flattened affect is particularly disruptive. The disorganized episode often features fragmented speech and inappropriate or unexpected behavior that does not reflect ideas expressed verbally. Strange mannerisms, gestures, and surprising behavior are common. This type of schizophrenia typically causes significant dysfunction in daily life, self-care, and interaction with others, as well as notable thought disturbance and loss of goal-directed behavior. People in the midst of a disorganized episode show no catatonic signs.


catatonic-type schizophrenia: People with catatonic type assume peculiar postures and are usually speechless. They may be both rigid and motionless, or they may seem agitated and move around excessively, but always without external stimulus. Catatonic people may also have strange facial expressions, may mimic the behavior of others, and may repeat words that others say. Catatonic behavior is also seen in mood disorders, like bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, and occasionally in diseases of the central nervous system, like Parkinson's disease.


positive symptoms:
* hallucinations and illusions
Hallucinations are perceptions that occur without connection to an appropriate source. Although hallucinations can occur in any sensory form - auditory (sound), visual (sight), tactile (touch), gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell).
* delusions
Delusions are false personal beliefs that are not subject to reason or contradictory evidence and are not explained by a person's usual cultural beliefs. Delusions may take on different themes.
*Disorganized speech/thinking
Disorganized speech/thinking, also described as thought disorder or loosening of associations, is a key aspect of schizophrenia. Disorganized thinking is usually assessed primarily based on the persons speech. Therefore, tangential, loosely associated, or incoherent speech severe enough to substantially impair effective communication is used as an indicator of thought disorder by the DSM-IV.
* Catatonic behaviors
Catatonic behaviors are characterized by a marked decrease in reaction to the immediate surrounding environment, sometimes taking the form of motionless and apparent unawareness, rigid or bizarre postures, or aimless excess motor activity.


negative symptoms:
*Affective flattening is the reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression, including facial expression, voice tone, eye contact, and body language.
* Alogia
Alogia, or poverty of speech, is the lessening of speech fluency and productivity, thought to reflect slowing or blocked thoughts, and often manifested as short, empty replies to questions.
*Avolition
Avolition is the reduction, difficulty, or inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behavior; it is often mistaken for apparent disinterest. (examples of avolition include: no longer interested in going out and meeting with friends, no longer interested in activities that the person used to show enthusiasm for, no longer interested in much of anything, sitting in the house for many hours a day doing nothing.)

differnece between a halucination and a delusion:
Delusions are a symptom of some mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder. Hallucinations, on the other hand, tend to only appear in people with schizophrenia or a psychotic disorder.

cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia:
  • Difficulty maintaining attention The inability to maintain focused attention makes people with schizophrenia seem spacey or “out of it.”
  • memory problems
    Schizophrenia often effects working memory, which is the kind of memory you use to keep things in your head for active processing, like the digits of a phone number you’re about to dial.
  • Difficulty planning and structuring activities
    Caused by reduced executive control. Executive control is the mental process that allows us to identify the steps needed to complete a task and then execute them in a proper order. Executive control also allows us to suppress our response to distractions in order to get something done.
  • Lack of insight
    People with schizophrenia have a specific cognitive blindspot that prevents them from understanding that they are ill. This means that loved ones and caregivers should remain as vigilant as possible to help the patient maintain the routines of treatment in order to control symptoms.
avolition:
 Avolition is the reduction, difficulty, or inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behavior; it is often mistaken for apparent disinterest. (examples of avolition include: no longer interested in going out and meeting with friends, no longer interested in activities that the person used to show enthusiasm for, no longer interested in much of anything, sitting in the house for many hours a day doing nothing.)

Catatonia:
People with catatonic type assume peculiar postures and are usually speechless. They may be both rigid and motionless, or they may seem agitated and move around excessively, but always without external stimulus. Catatonic people may also have strange facial expressions, may mimic the behavior of others, and may repeat words that others say. Catatonic behavior is also seen in mood disorders, like bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, and occasionally in diseases of the central nervous system, like Parkinson's disease.

Delusion od Grandeur:
A delusion in which one believes oneself possessed of great importance, power, wealth, intellect, or ability.

delusion of reference:
Delusions of reference refers to the strongly held belief that random events, objects, behaviors of others, etc. have a particular and unusual significance to oneself.
A person might believe that secret messages about him are broadcast in a weekly television show, to the point where he would record the programs and watch them again and again.

somatic delusion:
a false notion or belief concerning body image or body function. See also delusion.


http://www.enotalone.com/article/3018.html
http://www.schizophrenia.com/diag.php
http://schizophrenia.about.com/od/whatisschizophrenia/f/schiz_symptoms.htm