Drug Therapy (AQA A Level Psychology)

Benzodiazepines

• Drugs aim to reduce the physiological response to stress by entering the bloodstream to reach the brain and affect the action of neurotransmitters

• Benzodiazepines (BZs) are anti-anxiety drugs whose brand names include Librium and Valium and they help reduce the anxiety response and so reduce stress

• BZs slow down the activity of the central nervous system to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety by increasing the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA, which has an inhibiting (slowing) effect on many of the brain’s neurons

• GABA works by allowing an increase of chloride ions into the neurons, making it more difficult for other neurotransmitters to stimulate them

• BZs also calm the excitatory effect of the neurotransmitter serotonin, further slowing down the activity of the nervous system and reducing reactions to stress

• BZs should only be used short-term, because they can lead to dependence and addiction and can also have side effects such as dizziness and physical unsteadiness

Valium and Librium can both sometimes create dependency and addiction.

Beta blockers

• Beta blockers stop the transmission of nerve impulses from nerves that release the neurotransmitter noradrenaline which activates beta-adrenergic receptor cells in the heart, brain and blood vessels

• Beta blockers stop the nerve impulses from being transmitted by blocking the beta-adrenergic receptors from receiving the noradrenaline, and also from receiving the hormone adrenaline which is released into the bloodstream from the adrenal glands in large amounts when we are frightened or stressed

• Both noradrenaline and adrenaline make the heart beat faster and harder, so the effect of beta blockers is to slow the heartbeat and thus reduce the physical effects of stress

• Unlike benzodiazepines, beta blockers are not associated with dependence and addiction problems, but can have side effects, such as cold hands and feet, tiredness, nightmares and hallucinations

Beta blockers can reduce the stress created by a pounding heart.

Research which investigates drug therapy

• Davidson (1993) used an experiment to investigate the effects of benzodiazepines on patients diagnosed with social-anxiety disorder which results in stress and found 78 per cent of patients improved, compared with only 20 per cent of placebo patients and the improvement was maintained two years later

• Alexander et al (2007) stressed participants by getting them to speak publicly and then perform a mathematical task while being videoed and found that a beta blocker significantly increased their cognitive flexibility as measured by their ability to complete semantic tasks and anagrams after the stress test, suggesting they were calmer and more controlled than when receiving no medication

Evaluation of Drug Therapy

Strengths

• Drugs are easy to take, affordable and popular with patients due to the familiarity of taking pills for a multitude of uses for stress and generally for anxiety-related conditions

• Drugs do not require people to change the way they think or behave (which people tend to find difficult to do) and can be used in conjunction with psychological methods

Weaknesses

• The side effects of both benzodiazepines and beta blockers reduce the effectiveness of treatment, as patients experiencing side effects may stop taking the drugs before symptoms are reduced

• Drugs do not address the cause of a problem, merely its symptoms, and so once the medication is stopped, the symptoms are likely to recur 

Link to Approaches:

Drug therapy is based on the evidence from research that stress creates physiological changes in the body and the logical belief that reducing the physiological effects of stress will also relieve the psychological effects of stress. This is a biological approach to treatment.