Abnormal Psychology Lecture Notes

4/12/99

Was Christine a fraud?

• "Victor/Victoria" – female who dressed up as a female impersonator
• part of being a woman is being capable of becoming a mother
• reconstruction male to female is easier
• sex as recreation vs. procreation never came up in Christine

History: goes back a long time – this century, 3 main directions

1. surgery
2. drugs
3. shock therapies

Prof. corrects from text:

• side effect of tardive dyskinesia is a brain problem
• brain surgery is not that common as a means of psychotherapy

Brain surgery

• 1930’s Neurophysiologist conference. Fulton reported on removing frontal lobe of 1 chimpanzee and behavior afterward à docile
• at conclusion of paper, Moniz drew conclusion that schizophrenics needed frontal lobes removed to make them docile – received Nobel Prize for this mutilation
• 1940’s procedure wide spread and became more common in the US
• later on, modified to out patient
• ice-pick like tool inserted under the eyelid and cut the white matter of the brain
• a few years later, Fulton reported that just the opposite happened to behavior, but it was too late to stop the trend
• 1950’s called for stopping of this surgery – irreversible brain lesions
• other types – lesion made in cingular gland – rationale based on hypotheses – no relationship established between anatomy and schizophrenia

Preceding psychosurgery, observation of people who had survived shock

• diabetic overdoses on insulin à hypoglycemiaà comaà recoversà more reactive as a function of this experience à basis for schizophrenic and depression treatment

Shock Therapies

1. Insulin hypoglycemia à dangerous to induce
2. Based on published rationale that schizophrenics don’t have seizure disorders, dissociated conditions – giving schizophrenics a little seizure disorder that doctors can control à Electro Convulsive Shock Therapy
3. Metrasol à if someone is prone to seizures, a small amount will cause it

• still used today by in less numbers
• necessity for convulsion and application to current to both sides of brain doubted

today:

• anesthetized
• current applied only to 1 side
• mainly used for cases of depression – stops or shortens length of disorder

Drugs

1. sedatives – could control the symptoms – problem is that they stay in the system for a long time and make the person groggy
2. Phenylthiazine derivatives – prolonged anesthesia and reduced excitability as part of litic cocktail – sedation without mental clouding
3. Antidepressants – different biological actions, but all treat the symptoms of depression – problem is that they take a long time to build up in system
4. Antimanics à limited kinds of mood stabilizer – lithium, tegretol
5. Antianxiety à minor tranquilizers
6. Hypnotics à insomnia