Interview

Analyzing Psychological Disorders

PSY240

May 20, 2012

Axia College of University of Phoenix

Analyzing Psychological Disorders

(The interview)

Thank you for considering me for this valuable position. I will now complete the final portion of the interview process, which consists of part A and part B. In part A of the interview process I will discuss schizophrenia with an emphasis on the areas of the brain that are affected, causal factors, associated symptoms, the neural basis, and appropriate drug therapies. Part B will consist of my interpretation of two cases. The first case will involve anorexia, and the second case will focus on drug abuse. My interpretation of both cases will be analyzed from a biopsychological perspective.

Part A: Causes and Treatments of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that affects the brain. There are five types of schizophrenia: paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. It is often referred to as the “disorder of madness” because of the distortion of reality and the disturbing thoughts that accompany the disorder.

Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) has enabled researchers to study the various regions of the brain that may be affected by schizophrenia. These regions include: the basal ganglia (paranoia and hallucinations), the frontal lobe (difficulty planning actions and organizing thoughts), the limbic system (agitation), the auditory system (auditory hallucinations), the occipital lobe (difficulty interpreting complex images), and the hippocampus (learning and memory formation) (Schizophrenia.com). According to the UCLA laboratory of Neuro imaging the most profound affects in the brain are found in children with childhood onset schizophrenia (diagnosed at age 13 and under). This is a much more aggressive form of schizophrenia, where there is a severe loss of gray matter and is only found in 1 of every 40,000 people.

The causal factors behind schizophrenia...