PSYC379-23S1 Readings Notes
PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: An Integrative Approach
to Mental Disorders
D. Barlow, et al. (2022, 9th edition)
Key
 Italicized: Definition | Highlight: Important
 Blue bold: Chapter Header | Bold: Section Header
 Blue underlined: Sub-header | Black underlined: Sub-
sub-section Header (black bold if important)
 Pink: Example
Wk. 1 - Perspectives on Psychopathology
Chap. 2: An Integrative Approach to
Psychopathology (pgs. 30-71)
The Structure of the Brain
Brain: Brain stem and forebrain
Brain Stem
 Parts: Hindbrain (Medulla, pons, cerebellum),
Midbrain, Thalamus, Hypothalamus
 Lower and more ancient part (found in most
animals)  essential automatic functions:
Hindbrain (Medulla, pons, cerebellum)
- breathing, heartbeat, & digestion
Cerebellum: Motor coordination; abnormalities 
associated with autism but connection unclear
Midbrain
- Coordinates movement with sensory input and part
of the reticular activating system (arousal and
tension – awake/ asleep)
Thalamus/ Hypothalamus
- Regulating behavior and emotion; relay between
forebrain and brain stem
Forebrain
 Parts: limbic system (hippocampus, cingulate
gyrus, septum, amygdala), basal ganglia,
cerebral cortex (frontal, temporal, parietal,
and occipital lobes)
Limbic system (hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, septum,
amygdala)
- Helps regulate our emotional experiences and
expressions; and ability to learn and control our
impulses; basic sex drives, aggression, hunger, and
thirst
- Means border, edge of the center of brain
- Prominent in psychopathology
Basal Ganglia
- Damage involved with posture change,
twitching, shaking – believe to control motor
activity
- Relation to OCD
Cerebral Cortex (frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital
lobes)
- 80% of all neurons in central nervous system
- Provide us with our distinct human qualities
(future planning, to reason, and create)
- 4 lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
- 2 hemispheres: Right and Left
1
o Look alike structurally but operate
independently (still communicate)
o Frontal: Plan movements, recent memory,
aspects of emotion, primary motor cortex,
cognitive function, reason
o Parietal: body sensations, touch
o Occipital: vision
o Temporal: hearing, advanced visual
processing, smell, long-term memory
Left Hemisphere:
responsible for verbal and
other cognitive processe
Right Hemisphere:
Perceiving the world
around us and creating
images
**Both play roles in certain
psychological disorders
Prefrontal Cortex: In the
frontal lobe; responsible
for thinking, reason, higher
cognitive function, future
planning, long-term memory. Synthesizes all
information received from other parts of the brain
The Peripheral Nervous System
 Coordinates with the brain stem
 2 Components: Somatic & Autonomic
Somatic Nervous System: Controls voluntary muscles
and conveys sensory information to the central
nervous system
Autonomic Nervous System: Controls involuntary
muscles  Sympathetic (expends energy) and
Parasympathetic (conserves energy)
- Regulate the cardiovascular and endocrine system,
aid digestion, body temperature
Sympathetic: responsible for mobilizing body under
stress/ danger  activating organs/ glands. ↑
heartbeat, ↑ blood flow to muscles, ↑ respiration
(more O2 to blood/ brain), stimulate adrenal glands
Parasympathetic: balance the sympathetic system
Endocrine system: each endocrine gland produces its
own chemical messenger – a hormone – and releases it
 to the bloodstream. Adrenal grands produce
epinephrine (adrenaline)  response to stress and
salt-regulating hormones. Thyroid gland hormones
facilitate energy metabolism & growth. Gonadal
glands  sex hormones (estrogen etc.)
**important to stress-related physical disorders
- Adrenal glands  stress hormone cortisol-‘HPA axis’
(related in many psychological disorders) pgs. 43-47
- Evidence dysregulation of HPA axis and endocrine
systems are linked to depression
Neurotransmitters: in-depth
2 Types: monoamines (m) and amino acids (a)
Neurotransmitters: The biochemicals in the brain and
nervous system; carry and release messages from one
neuron (the axon) to another (dendrite)
 Glutamate (a)
 GABA (a)
 Serotonin (m)
 Norepinephrine (m)
 Dopamine (m)
Brain Circuit: The path that electrical activity (from
neurotransmitters) follows from neuron to neuron
**Neuroscientists have identified several circuits that
play a role in various psychological disorders
- Abnormal activity of the neurotransmitter
serotonin  related to cause depression
- Abnormality of dopamine  schizophrenia
***Research indicates this is greatly oversimplified
- Changes in neurotransmitter activity make others’
more/ less likely to exhibit behavior in certain
situations w/o being direct cause
Agonists: Substance ↑/↓ neurotransmitter activity by
mimicking its effect. Inverse agonists produce opposite
effects to neurotransmitter – (most drugs)
- Can also inhibit production of neurotransmitter;
other drugs ↑/↓ production of competing
biochemical substances that may deactivate
neurotransmitter; also block neuron receptors
Reuptake: After a neurotransmitter is released, it is
broken down & brought back to the same neuron that
released it
1.) Glutamate
 An excitatory transmitter that ‘turns on’ many
neurons, leading to action
2.) GABA
 An inhibitory transmitter: inhibit/ regulate the
transmission of information and actions
 Reduces postsynaptic activity  best known
for reduction of anxiety; reduce overall
arousal/ emotional responses
*Glutamate and GABA work together to balance
function in the brain – “the chemical brothers”
- i.e. benzodiazepines (addictive)
2
3.) Serotonin
 6 major circuits – widespread in brain
 Believed to deal with processing info. –
regulates behavior, moods, and thought
 ↓ serotonin associated with less inhibition,
instability, impulsivity, and overreactions
 Associated with inhibition and constraint
 ↓ associated with aggression, suicide,
impulsive overeating, and excessive sexual
 Other psychological/ social influences may
compensate for low serotonin to mediate
i.e. tricyclic antidepressants, SSRIs (used to treat a
number of psychological disorders – anxiety, mood, &
eating disorders); some herbal medication, MDMA,
psychedelics, & hallucinogens affect serotonin levels
as well
4. Norepinephrine
**not to be confused with epinephrine (adrenaline)
 Controls basic bodily functions (respiration) and
emergency response reactions
- Both are the hormones behind your ‘fight-or-
flight’ response; epinephrine  effect heart,
norepinephrine  effect blood vessels
- Stimulate receptors (alpha/beta-adrenergic) – can
be blocked by beta-blockers (hypertension or
difficulty with heart regulation); reduces response
to a surge of norepinephrine  keeps blood
pressure and heart rate down
5.) Dopamine
 Dopamine merges with many serotonin circuits
and therefore influence many same behaviors
 Associated with exploratory, outgoing, pleasure-
seeking behaviors – in a sense dopamine and
serotonin balance each other
- ↓ dopamine related to schizophrenia and disorders
of addiction; studies also show a significant role in
depression and ADHD
 Used in antipsychotic treatments (which affect
many transmitters) – greatest impact may be block
of specific dopamine receptors; associated with
disorders such as Parkinson’s disease
(deterioration in motor & tremors
i.e. L-dopa affects the dopamine circuits; is a
dopamine agonist (↑) – dopamine switches on the
locomotor system, influenced by serotonin once turned
on
**The effects of neurotransmitters are more complex
than we originally thought
 Psychopathologists aim to understand how
different types of biologically driven person-alities
could be more vulnerable to developing
psychological disorders; genetic contributions
might lead to patterns of transmitter activities that
influence personality
  Psychological disorders mix emotional, behavioral,
& cognitive symptoms so a specific brain structure
will not be the only cause of a disorder (pgs.47-51)
 Patients with OCD have ↑ orbital frontal lobe