ABSTRACT
The biological basis of psychological disorders has been the subject of extensive study and passionate debate (Guze, 1989). All formulations of psychopathology must incorporate biological factors, because biology is the study of life processes, Psychopathology is the manifestation of disordered processes in various brain systems that mediate psychological functions. Thus, disturbances in such brain functions as perception, learning, thought, memory, emotions, communications, and language have biological underpinnings (Buck, 1999). Contemporary research has tended to focus on the study of particular disorders. However, there is a developing awareness that various psychopathological states are not limited to specific disorders (Cloninger, 1999). In this chapter, I will review some aspects of the neurobiology and genetics of depression, anxiety, mania, psychosis, and personality, which will support a general conceptual model of psychopathology as a complex interaction among genetically influenced neurobiological behavioral traits, dysregulation of various brain systems, and the central nervous system (CNS) response to environmental influences and stress (Cooper, 2001; Denenberg, 2000).
