Textbook of Evolutionary Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine

Textbook of Evolutionary Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine
Author: Martin Brüne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2015-11-12
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191027782

Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine are concerned with medical conditions affecting brain, mind and behaviour in manifold ways. Traditional approaches have focused on a restricted array of potential causes of psychiatric and psychosomatic conditions - including adverse experiences such as trauma, neglect or abuse, genetic vulnerability and epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Whilst essential for the understanding of mental disorders, these approaches have disregarded important questions such as why the human mind is vulnerable to dysfunction at all. The Textbook of Evolutionary Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine updates and expands the previous edition to provide answers to these questions by emphasising an evolutionary perspective on psychiatric and psychosomatic conditions. It explains how the human brain/mind has been shaped by natural and sexual selection; why adaptations to environmental conditions in our evolutionary past may nowadays work in suboptimal ways; and how human cognition, emotions, and behaviour can be scientifically framed to improve our understanding of how people try to attain important biosocial goals pertaining to one's status in society, mating, eliciting and providing care, and maintaining rewarding relationships. The evolutionary topics relevant to the understanding of psychiatric and psychosomatic conditions include the concepts of genetic plasticity, life history theory, stress regulation and immunological aspects. In addition, it is argued that an evolutionary framework is also necessary to understand how psychotherapy and psychopharmacology work to improve the lives of patients with psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders. The Textbook of Evolutionary Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine is a valuable text for all students of Psychology, Medicine, and Psychotherapy who seek an understanding of the evolutionary issues surrounding health and disease.

Textbook of Evolutionary Psychiatry

Textbook of Evolutionary Psychiatry
Author: Martin Brüne
Publisher:
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2008
Genre: Medical
ISBN:

In the past couple of decades, studies investigating the genetic background of psychiatric disorders have mushroomed. Research into the brain mechanisms and regions of the brain involved in certain dysfunctions have greatly improved our knowledge of the relationship between brain pathology and psychopathology. By contrast, we know far less about 'why' certain individuals remain vulnerable to psychiatric disease at all, and whether they were selected by evolutionary forces or simply by-products of other species-specific characteristics. This comprehensive book presents a new integrative approach to understanding psychopathological conditions - an approach that embraces cognition, emotion, behaviour, and their nature-nurture interactions. Central to this approach is the introduction of human evolution into the psychiatric model - psychiatrists need to know why the human mind and brain evolved in the way it did. In three parts, the book presents a comprehensive account of human brain evolution in terms of physical features and function, showing how these relate to our current understanding of psychopathology. Accessibly written, the book shows how a consideration of evolutionary factors in psychiatry can improve our understanding and treatment of specific disorders such as suicidal behaviour, anorexia, and depression.

Measuring Psychopathology

Measuring Psychopathology
Author: Anne Farmer
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2002-02-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0192630806

Measuring Psychopathology describes the methods by which signs and symptoms of mental disorders are elicited, examined and evaluated. The content covers the development of standardised interviews, questionnaires and rating scales.

Evolutionary Psychiatry

Evolutionary Psychiatry
Author: Anthony Stevens
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2021-09-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1000446050

Evolutionary Psychiatry was first published in 1996, the second edition followed in 2000. This ground breaking book challenged the medical model which supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums. A comprehensive introduction to the science of Darwinian Psychiatry, the second edition included important fresh material on a number of disorders, along with a chapter on research. Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. Particularly important are the theories Stevens and Price propose to account for the worldwide existence of mood disorders and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for such puzzles as paedophilia, sado-masochism and the function of dreams. Readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader, Evolutionary Psychiatry describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and shows how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature.

Evolutionary Psychiatry, second edition

Evolutionary Psychiatry, second edition
Author: Anthony Stevens
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2014-01-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317724690

Challenging a medical model which has supplied few effective answers to long-standing conundrums, Evolutionary Psychiatry proposes a new conceptual framework for psychiatry based on Darwinian theory. Anthony Stevens and John Price argue that psychiatric symptoms are manifestations of ancient adaptive strategies which are no longer necessarily appropriate but which can best be understood and treated in an evolutionary and developmental context. They propose theories to account for the widespread existence of affective disorders, borderline states and schizophrenia, as well as offering solutions for puzzles such as sadomasochism and the function of dreams. This comprehensive introduction to the new science of Darwinian Psychiatry is readily accessible to both the specialist and non-specialist reader. It describes in detail the disorders and conditions commonly encountered in psychiatric practice and show how evolutionary theory can account for their biological origins and functional nature.

Evolutionary Psychiatry

Evolutionary Psychiatry
Author: Riadh Abed
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2022-09-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1316516563

This book explores how insights from evolution can transform our understanding of mental health and mental disorder.

Darwinian Psychiatry

Darwinian Psychiatry
Author: Michael McGuire
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 1998-04-16
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0195353749

For years, psychiatry has operated without a unified theory of behavior; instead, it has spawned a pluralism of approaches--including biomedical, psychoanalytic, behavioral, and sociocultural models--each with radically different explanations for various clinical disorders. In Darwinian Psychiatry, Michael T. McGuire and Alfonso Troisi provide a conceptual framework for integrating many features of prevailing models. Based on Darwinian theory rather than traditional approaches, the book offers clinicians a fundamentally new perspective for looking at the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders. Writing from this innovative theoretical position, the authors discuss the origin of pathological conditions, the adaptation of symptoms and syndromes, the biological basis of social relations, and many other key concepts. This groundbreaking book will introduce those who study and are involved in the alleviation of mental suffering to an approach that will lead to radical changes in clinical practice. The authors suggest that when making diagnostic assessments, psychiatrists should evaluate not only the patients' symptoms but also their functional capacities, and that therapeutic interventions should work toward the achievement of biological goals. Providing an essential framework for understanding both everyday human behavior and a range of mental disorders, Darwinian Psychiatry will appeal to all mental health professionals and general readers interested in human psychology and behavior.

Apathy

Apathy
Author: Krista Lanctot
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2021-08-19
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0198841809

Apathy is characterized by loss of motivation, decreased initiative, and emotional blunting. It is highly prevalent in neurological, and psychiatric disorders like Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, cerebrovascular disorders, and mild behavioural impairment. It has negative outcomes including impairments in activities of daily living, caregiver burden, and higher rates of institutionalization and mortality. The definition of apathy has changed over the years alongside the development of diagnostic criteria and apathy scales and measurements. Apathy is emerging as a treatment target with interest in pharmacological, non-pharmacological, and neuromodulatory treatments for apathy. There is also an increased understanding of the neurobiology of apathy with functional and structural neuroimaging research studies. This book is a comprehensive, in-depth review from experts in neurology and psychiatry. It reviews the current state of apathy in these various disorders while also summarizing apathy diagnostic criteria, scales and measurements, neuropathology, and treatments.