Brain anatomy

As we move forward, it will prove helpful to get some basic aspects of the human nervous system in place. An enormous amount of work has gone into making associations between brain anatomy and function. Starting with the three main parts of the brain, we know that the cerebrum is the seat of consciousness. It is divided into two hemispheres, which are linked by the corpus callosum. In a very general sense, the left hemisphere is associated with intellectual and the right hemisphere with emotional responses. Within the cerebrum, one can associate a number of brain areas (the prefrontal, frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, for example) with functions including vision and hearing. One can make crude maps in which function is mapped onto brain structure. 

Modern neuroscience has permitted us to build the scientific base that Freud wanted but which psychoanalysis had to do without. Part II treats two foundational themes of psychoanalysis, dreaming (chapter 4) and dissociation (chapter 5), showing that we can understand mind, brain, and drug action within a new unified conceptual framework. To emphasize this paradigm shift, I introduce the notion of neurodynamics and show how many processes previously considered to be exclusively psychodynamic are actually embodied in brain anatomy and physiology. 

In summary, there is incontrovertible evidence that antidepressants cause suicidality, irritability, violence, and mania as well as a wide range of other psychiatric adverse drug reactions often related to overstimulation, such as insomnia, anxiety, agitation, emotional instability, and akathisia. They can also cause apathy and emotional indifference. There is also strong evidence that they cause lasting abnormalities in brain function and even brain anatomy, including abnormal brain cell proliferation, death of brain cells, and shrinkage of brain tissue. 

Knaus TA, Bollich AM, Corey DM, Lemen LC, Foundas AL. 2006. Variability in perisylvian brain anatomy in healthy adults. Brain Lang 97(2) 219-232. 

Rosenberg DR, MacMillan SN, Moore GJ (2001) Brain anatomy and chemistry may predict treatment response in paediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 7 179-190. 

Sedvall G, Farde L (1995) Chemical brain anatomy in schizophrenia. Neurochemical theories and the development of a rational pharmacotherapy. Lancet 546 743-749. 

Bauman ML, Kemper TL (2005) Structural brain anatomy in autism what is the evidence In Bauman ML, Kemper TL (eds) The neurobiology of autism. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp 121-135... 

This section reviews basic principles of brain anatomy and function to provide a framework within which to discuss the effect of plants on the CNS. The human nervous system is exceptionally complex, it is the body s major communication system, and is divided into central and peripheral regions. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system consists of all other nerves. Although thought processes and reason are most commonly associated with the CNS, almost every aspect of physiological function is affected by CNS activity. After all, Brain death is widely accepted as the definition of the end of human life 10). The follow description of CNS anatomy and physiology can be foimd in most text books on the and reviews on the subject 11, 17). 

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