How it Works - The Science
What chemical messenger in the brain affects mood, sleep, and emotions?
What is serotonin?
What antipsychotic medication introduced in the 1950s helped treat schizophrenia symptoms?
What is Thorazine (chlorpromazine)?
What type of treatment uses medications to reduce symptoms of mental disorders?
What is psychopharmacology?
What treatment uses controlled electrical currents to treat severe depression?
What is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)?
What outdated procedure involved damaging the frontal lobe to change behavior?
What is a lobotomy?
What part of the brain helps control fear and emotional reactions?
What is the amygdala?
What brain scan allows scientists to see brain activity while a person performs tasks?
What is an fMRI?
What medication is commonly used as a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder?
What is lithium?
What treatment uses magnetic pulses to stimulate brain activity without surgery?
What is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)?
Why were lobotomies eventually considered unethical?
Because they caused major personality, emotional, and cognitive damage.
What is the brain’s ability to adapt and form new neural connections called?
What is neuroplasticity?
What class of antidepressants increases serotonin levels and is commonly prescribed today?
What are SSRIs?
Why is combining medication with psychotherapy often more effective?
Because it treats both symptoms and behavior/thought patterns.
What disorder is Deep Brain Stimulation most often used to help treat?
What is Parkinson’s disease?
What were large hospitals called where many mentally ill patients were isolated in the past?
What are asylums or mental institutions?
Which neurotransmitter is strongly connected to pleasure, motivation, and addiction?
What is dopamine?
What scientific discovery helped psychologists understand that mental disorders can involve brain chemistry?
What is neurotransmitter research?
What type of medication is used to reduce severe anxiety and panic symptoms?
What are anti-anxiety medications or benzodiazepines?
Why do some doctors prefer TMS over older stimulation treatments?
Because it is noninvasive and usually causes fewer side effects.
What harmful movement promoted forced sterilization based on the belief that some people were “unfit”?
What is eugenics?