TITLE:
Biological Trajectory for Psychosocial Risk Factors in Psychiatric Disorders—A Concept Based Review
AUTHORS:
Amresh Shrivastava, James Boylan, Yves Bureau, Avinash De Sousa, Nilesh Shah
KEYWORDS:
Psychosocial Stress, Resilience, Social Cognition, Epigenetics, Neurobiology, Psychosocial Risk Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.5 No.1,
December
23,
2014
ABSTRACT: Current understanding of
mental disorders is based upon “biopsychosocial model”. Research also suggests
what biological changes take place in a particular disorder as well as nature
of risk which arises from psychological, social and environmental conditions.
However it remains unclear how these psychosocial and environmental risk
factors interact with biological factors which lead to clinical syndromes. This
paper examines interrelationship of psychosocial and environmental risk and
biological changes observed in mental disorders and tries to identify the
possibility of a pathway of the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders. The
review aims to demonstrate that significant advances in the fields of
psychosocial, cultural, anthropological and neurobiological research provide
novel insights into the etiology of mental disorders. There are neurochemical,
functional and structural neurobiological, neurocognitive, immunological
findings and findings from gene-environment interaction that appears promising.
However these findings are in an isolated manner. Comprehensive studies
examining major biological changes together in relation to psychosocial risk
factors are lacking. Every individual reacts differently to the same
environmental risk while there tends to be similarities in individual outcome
in response to such stressors. The findings though robust independently, remain
very preliminary to suggest a sequential trajectory for developing a clear
pathway for pathogenesis. It is currently unclear whether there is a
differential psychopathological impact of psychosocial stressors in different
cultures despite the extensive variability both between and within major social
groups and societies. Further research investigating modifiable and
non-modifiable risk factors in context of prevailing socio-economic conditions
is urgently needed to plan effective interventions.