This week our class was cancelled so the teacher had created an assignment were students go online and listen to a podcast about the psychobiology of anxiety, which is talked about in an interview between Proffesor Welkowitz and Lazslo Papp, who is the associate proffesor of psychiatry and director of the biological studies department at Columbia University. Proffesor Welkowitz asked about understanding the biological causes of panic disorders and Papp said that relatively little is known about the biology of panic disorders. Papp said that even though they had done a lot of research in the lab about panic and anxiety disorders little was known about the biological influences of these disorders. Proffesor Welkowitz asked what was in store for the future studies of psychobiology and Papp said that genetics with a combination of brain imaging will probably be the next frontier. Papp also went on to say that some scientific findings from around the United States are not really that specific, such as the various seratonin gene studies that he believed have been exaggerated. Proffesor Welkowitz also asked about the studies of another researcher he knew of and studies he conducted himself that have established the role of certain psychological factors in the origins of panic disorders; and Papp responded saying that those psychological factors are not discounted and that panic disorders consist of both biology and psychology. Papp also stated that everything is based on biology, which means that psychology was based on biology on some level if you look at various psychological phenomeneons. Proffesor Welkowitz's final question was drugs or cognitive behavior therapy a better treatment for people suffering from panic disorders and Papp responded saying that it depends because there are benefits from both treatments and when the two approaches of treatment are compared they are found to be equally succesfful. Proffesor Welkowtiz finished the interview with saying that we have a biological view and a balanced view from Papp's disucussion on the nature of panic disorders because he had come from both sides of different scientific views such as treatment and the importance of both psychology and biology. Papp also believes that it is going to be very important for people in the psychology field to work together in the process of discovering new psychological research.
I think that this was an intersting discussion to listen to because it is important to understand what progess has been being made with panic disorders research and to look at biological and psychological connections within the field of psychology.