Chapter 3 - Biological Bases

The brain is a complex organ with multiple structures and neurotransmitters that underlie many of the different types of psychopathology. Recent advances in neuroscience have revealed that brain abnormalities or damage to the brain can represent the underpinnings to several different types of psychopathology. There are several different ways to study the human brain, including brain lesion studies, when a brain connection is disrupted either organically (e.g., in an accident) or experimentally or functional imaging techniques (e.g., function magnetic resonance imaging). There has also been considerable work on genetic underpinnings of psychopathology. This includes twin studies, where researchers are able to compare monozygotic twins, who share 100% of their genes and the same upbringing, and dizygotic twins, who only share 50% of their genes but still have the same upbringing. There have been strong genetic findings for disorders such as schizophrenia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.