PSYC 241 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Neuroanatomy, Operant Conditioning, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
15 Oct 2018
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Genetic in uence: 4-6x more likely to develop anxiety disorder if there is family history. Neuroanatomy: neural fear circuit: thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus, mid-brain, brain stem, spinal cord. Neurotransmitters: gaba: pervasive inhibitory nt in the brain. Use of benzodiazepines: serotonin and norepinephrine systems involved, behavioural factors. Two factor theory: fears are acquired through classical conditioning, and maintained through operant conditioning. Cannot explain development of all phobias: vicarious learning, biological preparedness for developing fear of some types of stimuli, cognitive factors. People with anxiety have biased perceptions about the world (dangerous), the future (uncertain), the self (helpless/vulnerable) Early attachment: early parent-child interactions can lead to development of belief systems about relationships, e. g. anxious-ambivalent style is predictive of anxiety problems. Anxiety disorders: panic disorder (at least 4 of the following): palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath/smothering, feeling of choking, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, derealization/depersonalization, fear of losing control/going crazy, fear of dying, paresthesias (numbness/tingling), chills/hot ashes.
