Brain imaging techniques—EEG, fMRI, and the like—promise to not only deepen psychopathologists’ understanding of particular disorders but also spur a reconsideration of the relationships among disorders and a reconceptualization of the schemes by which they are organized in such systems as the DSM-5.” Support this statement by drawing on the textbook’s discussion of using neuroscience techniques to identify mental illness.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: People diagnosed with the same disorder often experience quite different symptoms. For example, some people with schizophrenia experience auditory hallucinations, whereas others experience visual ones. These differences may correspond to quite different brain mechanisms, suggesting that traditional diagnoses such as schizophrenia may actually subsume different disorders. Somewhat conversely, neuroscience research may also suggest similarities between disorders traditionally thought quite different. For example, genetic research suggests commonalities between bipolar disorder—long aligned in the DSM with depression as mood disorder—and schizophrenia, historically considered a psychotic disorder. Such traditional broad categories as neurosis, psychosis, and the like may need to be reconsidered, perhaps provoking a realignment of various disorders.
Learning Objective: 4.3 Identify the tests and techniques used in assessing mental illness.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Using Neuroscience Techniques to Identify Mental Illness
Difficulty Level: Hard