Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lobotomy, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Dr.Mike

Document Summary

Psychotherapy - treatment of emotional or behavioural problems through psychological techniques. Note: treatment through the usage of drugs is called somatic therapy. Typically used in conjunction with some form of talking therapy. Patient may be too down to talk. Three types available: psychosurgery, electroconvulsive therapy (ect, drugs. More refined procedure: cingulectomy: cut cingulum bundle (fibers connecting prefrontal lobes to limbic system, few side-effects (can influence strategy choice, seems effective for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Caution: should be used only as a last resort, never on patient who can not consent, irreversible. Von meduna (early 1900s: patients with epileptic seizures improved after attack. Cerletti (1937) uses electricity rather than drugs to induce seizure. Brief (less than 1 second) electrical current applied to head. Wild firing of neurons results in seizure and convulsions. Today, patients are anesthetised and partially paralyzed prior to treatment: eliminates convulsion. Right hemisphere only: less damage to verbal memory. 3 to 12 sessions over several weeks.