Читать книгу Abnormal Psychology - William J. Ray - Страница 12

An integration of research from the neurosciences with traditional psychological research helps clarify the efficacy and mechanisms of psychological treatments. For example, recent brain imaging research concerning treatment suggests that the type of treatment used determines the brain response. On the one hand, research concerning treatment of depression shows that psychotropic medications work from a bottom-up perspective by influencing the limbic areas that, in turn, influence higher cortical networks. On the other hand, cognitive therapies work in a top-down manner by influencing the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which, in turn, has an inhibitory effect on the lower brain processes. Even within traditional psychotherapy outcome research, there is a new sense of integration of traditionally dichotomous positions. This includes a search for specifying empirically supported procedures, such as the successful relationship between client and therapist, which determine treatment outcomes. In terms of prevention, there has been a recent increase in neuroscience research that shows the manner in which enriched environments as well as exercise can influence brain development and play an important role in the prevention of both pathophysiology and psychopathology.