Biological, cultural and historical foundations

Neurobiology and genetics of mental disorders, normality, culture and the history of psychiatry.

5 pages

Topic

• A short history of psychiatryFrom early asylums to moral treatment, diagnosis by course, psychoanalysis, the first…

Concept

• Culture and mental illness: cultural concepts of distressCulture shapes how people feel, name and explain suffering; knowing local terms such as ataque…
• Genetics and neuroimaging of mental disordersMost mental disorders run in families through many small-effect genes plus environment; brain…
• Normality and mental health‘Normal’ can mean healthy, ideal, average or growing; mental health is more than no illness: it…

Theory

• The neurobiology of mental disorders: neurotransmitters and circuitsMental disorders involve brain chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, GABA) and emotion and…

A to Z

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• R
• S
• T

← Medical psychology and behavioral science

Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Representative model, for educational purposes only.