Models Of Psychopathology

Annotation.

In Psychopathology: A Social Neuropsychological Perspective, Lee and Irwin demonstrate that mental distress often defies traditional forms of medical classification. Integrating both psychosocial and neuropsychological frameworks, they present a unique and balanced perspective on psychopathology, emphasising the importance of context, relationships and neuroplasticity. Written to support teaching and learning at the undergraduate level, Psychopathology: A Social Neuropsychological Perspective encourages students to explore alternatives to traditional diagnostic models. Pedagogical features such as reflection points in each chapter encourage critical engagement and classroom debate. The result is an original examination of mental distress and a stand-alone resource for students in this area.

This book explores current relational models of psychopathology that undergird a great many conflicts and destructive outcomes in family and intimate relationships. These models have similar features and can be considered as a group. They are all: (1) generational; (2) relational; and (3) fundamentally reactive processes stemming from existing psychopathology.

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a survey of some of the major areas of clinical psychology. No attempt has been made to include every area relevant to clinical psychology; the choices are selective but represent the wide range of areas touched by clinical psychologists. For some years I have felt the need for a book that provides students with more of a historical introduction and context from which to view current clinical psychology than is included in most textbooks. The issues and problems of clinical psychology have been with us since the beginning of time; however, most psychological literature is written with the bias that anything older than five or ten years is not relevant. Those who attempt to take a long-range view of clinical psychology are sometimes able to recall the early development of the field in the 1930s and 1940s. In this text, I asked the authors to begin with a brief survey of ancient and medieval history to set the stage for a discussion of current research and developments in the field. I hope that a presentation of this sort will provide the reader-whether advanced undergraduate, graduate, or professional-with a sense of perspective and context from which to view and understand clinical psychology.

Modeling the Psychopathological Dimensions of Schizophrenia: From Molecules to Behavior is the first book to offer a comprehensive review of the new theoretical, clinical, and basic research framework that considers psychotic illness as a group of dimensional representations of psychopathology rather than as traditional distinct categorical diagnoses. Psychotic illness, typified by schizophrenia, is a devastating condition increasingly recognized as a disorder of abnormal brain development and dysconnectivity. Its complex etiology involves both genetic and environmental factors, as well as the interplay among them. This book describes the current understanding of the clinical and pathological features of schizophrenia, with a particular focus on the evolving conceptualization of schizophrenia and related diagnostic categories of psychotic illness as combinations of dimensional abnormalities. It provides an overview of modern strategies for generating cellular and whole animal models of schizophrenia as well as detailed reviews of the specific experimental preparations and paradigms aimed at molecular, developmental, and brain-network mechanisms that are the underlying aspects of abnormal behavior and various aspects of schizophrenia. This groundbreaking book is an authoritative overview of the translational impact of emerging clinical insights on basic research approaches in schizophrenia that will advance the reader’s understanding of the five major dimensions of psychopathology in schizophrenia and related psychoses and resolve the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of these dimensions. Includes reviews of animal models that capture the most recent insights into the etiology and pathogenetic mechanisms of schizophrenia, with an emphasis on the translational potential of these models Contains a series of reviews of recently available cellular models for analysis of signaling pathways and gene expression, which complement behavioral neuroscience research in schizophrenia Edited and authored by leading researchers in the field of schizophrenia and related psychoses

Written by distinguished academic and Editor of the British Journal of Psychiatry, and a now retired NHS consultant psychiatrist, this latest edition of Models for Mental Disorders reflects the significant changes in clinical practice and understanding in the last four years. With increased emphasis on the multidisciplinary approach now being used in all mental health facilities in Europe, the two new chapters on application of models in multidisciplinary teams and how understanding of models improves communication are particularly timely and relevant. The book also features an easy-to-read new appendix providing a glossary of commonly-used terms in psychiatry for the interested lay-reader. An adopted title on many psychology courses throughout the UK, this fourth edition continues to provide an invaluable introduction to the different models used in evaluating mental health, and is recommended reading for all those interested in mental health and illness.

Research on connectionist models is one of the most exciting areas in cognitive science, and neural network models of psychopathology have immediate theoretical and empirical appeal. The contributors to this study review theoretical, historical and clinical issues, including the contribution of neural network models to diagnosis, pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Models are presented for a range of disorders, including schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dissociative phenomena, autism and Alzheimer's disease. This book will appeal to a broad audience. On the one hand, it will be read with interest by psychiatrists, psychologists and other clinicians and researchers in psychopathology. On the other, it will appeal to those working in cognitive science and artificial intelligence, and particularly those interested in neural network or connectionist models.

Despite considerable progress in clinical and basic neurosciences, the cure of psychiatric disorders is still remote, little is known about their prevention, and the etiology and molecular mechanisms of mental disorders are still obscure. Diagnoses are still guided by patients' stories. The mission of animal models is to bridge the gap between `the story and the synapse.' Contemporary Issues in Modeling of Psychopathology attempts to do this by examining such questions as `What good might come from such a model? Are we wasting our time? How far can we carry results from model animals, such as rats and mice, without causing a highly distorted view of the field and its goals?' This book serves as the opening volume for a new series, Neurobiological Foundation of Aberrant Behaviors.