Medication brain function

Positron emission tomography (PET) makes use of a short-lived positron emitter such as fluorine-18 to image human tissue with a degree of detail not possible with x-rays. It has been used extensively to study brain function (see illustration) and in medical diagnosis. For example, when the hormone estrogen is labelled with fluorine-18 and injected into a cancer patient, the fluorine-bearing compound is preferentially absorbed by the tumor. The positrons given off by the fluorine atoms are quickly annihilated when they meet... 

Hudson, Christopher G., Socioeconomic Status and Mental Illness Tests of the Social Causation and Selection Hypotheses , American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 75, no. 1 (2005) 3-18 The Humble Humbug , The Lancet 2 (1954) 321 Hunter, Aimee M., Andrew F. Leuchter, Melinda L. Morgan and Ian A. Cook, Changes in Brain Function (Quantitative EEG Cordance) During Placebo Lead-in and Treatment Outcomes in Clinical Trials for Major Depression , American Journal of Psychiatry 163, no. 8 (2006) 1426-32 Hyland, Michael E., Do Person Variables Exist in Different Ways , American Psychologist 40 (1985) 1003-10 Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group, Effect of Hypericum Perforatum (St John s Wort) in Major Depressive Disorder A Randomized Controlled Trial , Journal of the American Medical Association 287 (2002) 1807-14... 

Even in a Tie, Medication Wins , British Medical Journal (2009) http / / www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/338 / febo5 i/b463 Leuchter, Andrew F., Ian A. Cook, Elise A. Witte, Melinda Morgan and Michelle Abrams, Changes in Brain Function of Depressed Subjects During Treatment with Placebo , American Journal of Psychiatry 159 (2002) 122-29... 

The use of plants to influence brain function has long been essential to medical practice, and one could say that the intake of new plant species by early hominids resulting from a change in the climate might have triggered the Mind s Big Bang 50,000 years ago which allowed us to prevail over the Neanderthals, who co-existed with us for tens of thousands of years. 

The discovery of psychopharmacological medications was revolutionary because they provided a means of treating illnesses that were otherwise intractable. With the exception of electroconvulsive treatments for severe depression, there were no medical treatments for disorders that did not respond to psychotherapy. Once established, the drugs led to an ongoing search for more effective and safer medications. A second reason for their revolutionary status is that they furthered understanding of mental illnesses and normal brain function. Investigations of their therapeutic mechanisms led to theories of the neurochemical bases of mental illnesses. 

Several studies of ERPs and brain function have produced mixed results due to methodological confounds. When subjects are screened for medical and psychiatric illness, and age effects were controlled, THC does not alter brain stem and auditory or visual P300 responses (Patrick et al. 1997). Despite daily cannabis use in subjects, the only finding consisted of an elevated auditory P50 amplitude. 

Johnson, B. L., J. G. Orthoefer, T. R. Lewis, and C. Xintaras. The effect of ozone on brain function. Presented at the American Medical Association Air Pollution Medical Research Conference, December 5-6, 1974. San Fancisco, California. 

Mood Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition. Commonly called secondary manias, certain medical and neurological illnesses produce symptoms that mimic mania. Often, secondary manias occur when injury or disease interferes with right-sided brain function. As one might anticipate, this is in contrast to the predilection for left-sided brain injury to be associated with depressive symptoms. 

It is extremely important to identify delirium in a timely manner. Delirium is a medical emergency because untreated, it often proves fatal. Delirium generally occurs when some external factor interferes with normal brain functioning. The most common causes of delirium are infection (e.g., pneumonia or bladder infections) and the side effect of prescribed medication or drugs of abuse. 

The discovery at the turn of the century that untreated syphilis was a common cause of many psychiatric illnesses including dementia revolutionized the field of psychiatry. Although the tools available to investigate brain function were limited at the time, it proved that diseases that attack the brain could cause mental illness. This in turn led to a search for other medical conditions that cause mental illness. 

Why don t any of these medications work Clearly, they boost nerve cell activity. Some of them do enhance cognition in animals. But they do little for dementia patients. Why is this The explanation is probably that the small benefit of these medications pales in comparison to the widespread damage to nerve cells caused by dementia. The difference between a dementia s ability to compromise the way the brain works and a medication s ability to enhance brain function is so great that the medication produces no noticeable improvement. 

The UC Davis M.I.N.D Institute (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopment Disorders) explains the various advances in brain research like this, "Advances in imaging technology are enabling researchers to unravel the complexity of brain function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) permits researchers to identify areas of the brain at work during specific activities and... 

Evaluation of memory and orientation is critical to the differentiation of a psychiatric versus a nonpsychiatric medical disorder. Memory for immediate, recent, and remote events can be readily tested, as well as orientation to time, place, person, space, and situation. Assuming the level of anxiety is not sufficient to impair responses to questions in these areas, deficits usually imply some impairment of brain functioning, which may or may not be reversible. 

Bipolar disorder can be divided into primary and secondary types, with the latter developing as a consequence of various medical conditions or substances that can alter brain function or structure. This categorization underscores the view of mania as a syndrome subsequent to various pathophysiologies. 

CNS depressants (e.g., tranquilizers, sedatives) are medications that slow normal brain function. In higher doses, some CNS depressants can be used as general anesthetics or preanesthetics. 

Methaqualone is an addictive, or habit-forming, synthetic drug that alters brain function. In their search for new medications to fight malaria, a potentially deadly tropical disease spread by mosquitoes, scientists in India first synthesized methaqualone in 1955. The drug was found to be hypnotic and a potent sedative, but it was then thought to be non-addictive. 

In the past several years, a few medical researchers have stated they believe some hallucinogens may have valid medical uses, particularly in psychiatry. Also, studies are underway in Baltimore and New Mexico on the possible uses of hallucinogens to treat drug and alcohol addictions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the studies. Recent advances in science have created opportunities for using hallucinogens as tools in learning how the brain functions. 

This study was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Health and Labor Science Research (Research on Pharmaceutical and Medical Safety) from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Scientific Research on Priority Areas—System study on higher order brain functions and Research on Pathomechanisms of Brain Disorders, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan. 

In the 40s and 50s, John Lilly, M.D., blazed a meteoric trail in his career as a medical researcher, performing important studies of the human organism s ability to withstand conditions of extreme stress, such as high altitudes and acceleration. As well, he applied the ham-radio experience of his youth to several significant electronic inventions used in monitoring brain function and other physiological processes. 

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