Читать книгу Abnormal Psychology - William J. Ray - Страница 175

As more and more researchers and clinicians have come to see mental illness as representing problems with the brain, there have been a variety of projects to utilize neuroscience approaches to describe psychopathology (Andreasen, 2001). These have ranged from identifying the presence of certain genes and the manner in which they turn on and off in psychopathology to structural and functional descriptions of brain processes and psychophysiological changes measured throughout the body. The potential for using neuroscience approaches to classify mental illness and inform its treatment is an important one (see Cuthbert & Insel, 2010, 2013; Glannon, 2015; Halligan & David, 2001; Hyman, 2007, 2010; Insel, 2009; G. Miller, 2010; Sumner, Powers, Jovanovic, & Koenen, 2015).

Traditionally, psychopathology has been defined in terms of signs and symptoms. The experiences of the client and what is observed by the professional are one level of analysis. In general, the mental health professional identifies symptoms that group together and the time of their appearance. Neuroscience techniques offer another level of analysis. From a research standpoint, scientists have sought to identify underlying markers associated with specific mental disorders. Using various brain imaging techniques described in Chapter 2 such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG), there has been a search for structural and functional changes associated with psychopathology. For example, researchers have been able to distinguish individuals with autism (Ecker et al., 2010) and with bipolar disorder (Rocha-Rego et al., 2013) from those without the disorder based on fMRI data.

Part of the potential for using neuroscience markers is related to the fact that not every individual with schizophrenia, for example, reports the same symptoms. Some individuals describe auditory hallucinations, whereas others describe visual hallucinations. This is also the case with depression in that some individuals report different types of depressive symptoms than others. This suggests to some researchers that there might be different underlying brain processes involved in these variations. What now is considered as a single disorder may be better represented as separate disorders based on underlying mechanisms. Further, certain mental disorders also show gender differences. For example, females tend to develop schizophrenia later than males, but both males and females show similar rates of the disorder. However, females do show higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders.

Overall, neuroscience methods may lead to better diagnostic procedures as well as understanding the mechanisms of the disorder. For example, genetic research suggests similarities between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in terms of the genes involved. It is also possible to use neuroscience techniques to follow the course of a disorder over time. One study (Raj, Kuceyeski, & Weiner, 2012) based on brain imaging methods suggests that neurocognitive disorders follow specific pathways in the brain. Another potential for neuroscience methods is that by knowing the underlying brain and genetic processes involved in a particular disorder for a particular person, it would be possible to create a treatment that is designed specifically for that individual.

The potential for using neuroscience approaches to classify mental illness and inform its treatment is an important one.

National Institute of Mental Health

Concept Check

 For each of the following types of assessment, what kinds of information can you obtain from it and what is one example of it?Symptom questionnairePersonality testProjective testNeuropsychological testNeuroscience technique