Neuroscience, neurology, mental disorders
May 1, 2013 at 1:30 am
(This post was last modified: May 1, 2013 at 1:48 am by Creed of Heresy.)
Because there's a shitstorm over in a thread that is meant for laughing rather than raging over this topic, it's going here.
Warning! This is a bit long, but necessarily so for the sake of context. I speak without professional levels of knowledge, but I do speak with the knowledge that is openly afforded to me by the internet to have access to medical texts and journals and scientific studies. If you want me to cite my sources for this, I'm afraid that the time must be yours to spend, but I assure you that the simple perusal of google will show you where I get my information.
So let's talk about neurology! The science of studying ze brainz! Yes, gray matter, cranial contents, skull jelly, the epicenter of the human experience, the point from which great works of art, tremendous deeds, horrible cruelty, great kindness, acts of destruction, and everything in between and around come from.
How does the brain work? Simple enough; electro-chemical signals that get sent over a vast, interlinked network of complicated and specialized nerve endings, the activation of which is largely the result of hormonal chemicals, though this is a gross oversimplification of the entire process.
The brain, however, is a very delicate organ. Over the course of our lives, it is subjected to bombardment from a thousand-thousand sources. Damage to it or merely moderate alteration of the neural pathways irreversibly alters the human being that the brain is a part of, oftentimes in very inhibiting ways. The brain is also prone to atypical development, and the neurological functions can be affected quite noticeably by the delicate balance of hormonal chemicals being disrupted. The brain can be considered a self-regulating system, but that doesn't mean its self-regulation is really all that great. This is not surprising; the brain is very complicated, and as we all know, the more parts go into a machine, the more difficult it is to keep it working normally, and the easier it is to fuck up the construction and functioning. One wrong part and the entire thing can break down or function improperly. The brain is no exception to this strange little facet of construction.
This can be observed all the time. Schizophrenia, bipolarity, depression, mania, dissociation, borderline, psychosis, hallucination, delusion, and many other disorders of the brain plague humanity. This is not a new thing that's been caused by our pharmacological society; humanity has been plagued by these problems throughout our existence, but for a long time we didn't know why these things were happening. We attributed them to demons, spirits, possession, divine revelation. We can't blame our historical ancestors for this; how the hell could they have known what really was causing so many people to behave so very oddly? Hell, even with all our technology, we still don't know the precise causes of some of these disorders. Schizophrenia is one of the most vivid examples. It affects millions of people with varying results, sometimes causing the afflicted to be merely somewhat unusual and quirky, to the afflicted being outright incapable of self-control or self-awareness.
What causes schizophrenia? We don't know. I know I sure don't, the whole "not being a neurologist" hindering my understanding of course, but even if I were, in all likelihood, I still probably would not know. We know that certain parts of the brain activating or not activating to certain extents happens in conjunction with the symptoms of this disorder, but what exactly causes those parts to malfunction, well, we don't know. We have hypotheses, of course, one of the most likely being abnormal brain development resulting in the neurological pathways being connected (or wired, whatever term you prefer) improperly. Instead of A1 connecting to A2 as it's supposed to, A1 connects to C2 and A2 connects to B1, basically. Now, what happens when you wire a machine wrong? Shit doesn't work right. Same with the brain.
Since we don't know the cause, we don't have a cure or even a preventative treatment. We can only treat the symptoms. Since the schizophrenic's brain is sending incorrect signals, or rather, sending them down the wrong pathways, the hormone secretions in the brain are put out of balance, resulting in other pathways firing improperly; even though the other pathways may be connected properly, the on/off switches get flipped when they're not supposed to be, basically. This often causes numerous problems. Emotional, social, logical, rational.
So, since we can't cure the disease (yet), we treat the symptoms as best we can, over-riding or counter-balancing the chemistry of the brain so that at least a major part of the brain will still function normally, though the improperly-wired sections...well, we still can't do anything for them, thus resulting in many schizophrenics, even under treatment, still being "a bit off" to some. Still, we can help prevent or at least alleviate a large portion of the suffering, by stabilizing their emotions, their moods, their "trains of thought," and most importantly their perception, allowing them to discern delusion from reality at the very least, and at best by completely halting delusion and allowing the patient to live in the real world.
How do we do this?
Well it depends on who you ask.
If you ask a chemist, a neurologist, a pharmacologist, a psychologist, or psychiatrist: Medication.
If you ask Catfish or some alternative medicine type: You can take control all by yourself with sheer willpower, or natural remedies.
Now, which one is right? Well to determine that we must look at how these two sides come to their own conclusions.
The medical means is to determine the hormonal chemicals that are out of balance in the brain, usually by using EEG machines to determine what regions are activating erroneously, though there are other means. Now the problem is that we know what chemicals are in play, but not specifically which ones or in what amounts. As a result, trial-and-error is necessary for a time; improvements or worsening of the symptoms allow a narrowing of the picture, fine-tuning the types of chemicals and the amounts until a sweet spot can be reached, or at least a close approximation. How do we get these chemicals? Well, we get them by isolating them from the world around us and replicating them for efficient production for widespread use. This is the most reliable and effective means, since the measurements are very precise, thus allowing for easy, measurable intake that allows for predictability...something very important for schizophrenics, who often feel their symptoms in very unpredictable and uncontrollable ways, but also for anyone with any kind of neurological disorder.
The latter, however, would have you believe you can just will your mind to produce the right chemicals of its own volition, or that the chaos of nature can be trusted to provide precision and balance...without any guarantee that the chemicals are even the right ones. In other words, people like Catfish state that a brain already out of its own control can somehow just manage to get itself under control without intervention if it really wants to (completely ignoring that the structure of the brain itself is fucked up and that he and others like him believe that a machine with improper parts and wiring can somehow function according to specification), and people like Purple Purpose (Porpoise?) state that nature, which is constantly in flux and change and evolution and therefore highly unpredictable without human intervention, can be trusted to provide just the right chemicals in just the right amount simply by consuming certain plants or herbs or minerals.
I don't think I need to point out how flawed these kinds of thought are. The fallacies speak for themselves and are clear to anyone with a sense of perception and understanding. In either case, you are asking for the impossible. A machine with malfunctioning parts and wiring cannot be expected to function to how it is supposed to, and nature cannot be expected to just provide the solution for us just because we want it to. We must utilize scientific methods to provide those suffering from these disorders with the absolutely necessary precision of types of chemicals AND the equally important precision of measurement of said chemicals.
So, no, Catfish, you can't just wish yourself well, no matter how much you (hollowly) try to assert otherwise (without any kind of cited examples of such a thing being possible), and no, Purple, you can't just eat a bunch of herbs and nuts and expect to alleviate the symptoms. In fact, Purple's idea is the much worse, since this lack of precise control can mean that you are further upsetting the already off-balance amounts of chemicals in the brain, thus making the situation even worse rather than better, which is why alternative medicines are completely and totally ineffective in treating any of these disorders.
Discuss, everyone. If you have a contrary opinion, feel free to state it, but if you do not have any kind of information to provide backing for your argument, don't get butthurt when you are torn apart and called a fucking moron.
And be respectful. Several on this forum suffer these disorders, myself included (in the form of Bipolar 2 Disorder/clinical depression ((my psychologist is pretty sure it's clinical depression since the times where I am not depressed are not exactly classifiable as stages of mania, and the depressive feelings are very pervasive))), and it's insulting (and exceedingly dickish) on a very personal level to be told that something beyond your control that is negatively impacting your life is somehow your fault and that you are wrong for thinking that seeking treatment to mitigate the problems is a valid solution, and on an intellectual level to be told this by someone who doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. I am speaking directly to you, Catfish, on this: Do you tell terminally ill patients that they are weak, or whiners, for medicating themselves to alleviate their suffering? If so, you are a raging douchecanoe on the level of Mt. St Helens, and I recommend anyone who gave you reputation points to remove them lest you be seen complimenting a "man" who cruelly and willfully insults the suffering.
Warning! This is a bit long, but necessarily so for the sake of context. I speak without professional levels of knowledge, but I do speak with the knowledge that is openly afforded to me by the internet to have access to medical texts and journals and scientific studies. If you want me to cite my sources for this, I'm afraid that the time must be yours to spend, but I assure you that the simple perusal of google will show you where I get my information.
So let's talk about neurology! The science of studying ze brainz! Yes, gray matter, cranial contents, skull jelly, the epicenter of the human experience, the point from which great works of art, tremendous deeds, horrible cruelty, great kindness, acts of destruction, and everything in between and around come from.
How does the brain work? Simple enough; electro-chemical signals that get sent over a vast, interlinked network of complicated and specialized nerve endings, the activation of which is largely the result of hormonal chemicals, though this is a gross oversimplification of the entire process.
The brain, however, is a very delicate organ. Over the course of our lives, it is subjected to bombardment from a thousand-thousand sources. Damage to it or merely moderate alteration of the neural pathways irreversibly alters the human being that the brain is a part of, oftentimes in very inhibiting ways. The brain is also prone to atypical development, and the neurological functions can be affected quite noticeably by the delicate balance of hormonal chemicals being disrupted. The brain can be considered a self-regulating system, but that doesn't mean its self-regulation is really all that great. This is not surprising; the brain is very complicated, and as we all know, the more parts go into a machine, the more difficult it is to keep it working normally, and the easier it is to fuck up the construction and functioning. One wrong part and the entire thing can break down or function improperly. The brain is no exception to this strange little facet of construction.
This can be observed all the time. Schizophrenia, bipolarity, depression, mania, dissociation, borderline, psychosis, hallucination, delusion, and many other disorders of the brain plague humanity. This is not a new thing that's been caused by our pharmacological society; humanity has been plagued by these problems throughout our existence, but for a long time we didn't know why these things were happening. We attributed them to demons, spirits, possession, divine revelation. We can't blame our historical ancestors for this; how the hell could they have known what really was causing so many people to behave so very oddly? Hell, even with all our technology, we still don't know the precise causes of some of these disorders. Schizophrenia is one of the most vivid examples. It affects millions of people with varying results, sometimes causing the afflicted to be merely somewhat unusual and quirky, to the afflicted being outright incapable of self-control or self-awareness.
What causes schizophrenia? We don't know. I know I sure don't, the whole "not being a neurologist" hindering my understanding of course, but even if I were, in all likelihood, I still probably would not know. We know that certain parts of the brain activating or not activating to certain extents happens in conjunction with the symptoms of this disorder, but what exactly causes those parts to malfunction, well, we don't know. We have hypotheses, of course, one of the most likely being abnormal brain development resulting in the neurological pathways being connected (or wired, whatever term you prefer) improperly. Instead of A1 connecting to A2 as it's supposed to, A1 connects to C2 and A2 connects to B1, basically. Now, what happens when you wire a machine wrong? Shit doesn't work right. Same with the brain.
Since we don't know the cause, we don't have a cure or even a preventative treatment. We can only treat the symptoms. Since the schizophrenic's brain is sending incorrect signals, or rather, sending them down the wrong pathways, the hormone secretions in the brain are put out of balance, resulting in other pathways firing improperly; even though the other pathways may be connected properly, the on/off switches get flipped when they're not supposed to be, basically. This often causes numerous problems. Emotional, social, logical, rational.
So, since we can't cure the disease (yet), we treat the symptoms as best we can, over-riding or counter-balancing the chemistry of the brain so that at least a major part of the brain will still function normally, though the improperly-wired sections...well, we still can't do anything for them, thus resulting in many schizophrenics, even under treatment, still being "a bit off" to some. Still, we can help prevent or at least alleviate a large portion of the suffering, by stabilizing their emotions, their moods, their "trains of thought," and most importantly their perception, allowing them to discern delusion from reality at the very least, and at best by completely halting delusion and allowing the patient to live in the real world.
How do we do this?
Well it depends on who you ask.
If you ask a chemist, a neurologist, a pharmacologist, a psychologist, or psychiatrist: Medication.
If you ask Catfish or some alternative medicine type: You can take control all by yourself with sheer willpower, or natural remedies.
Now, which one is right? Well to determine that we must look at how these two sides come to their own conclusions.
The medical means is to determine the hormonal chemicals that are out of balance in the brain, usually by using EEG machines to determine what regions are activating erroneously, though there are other means. Now the problem is that we know what chemicals are in play, but not specifically which ones or in what amounts. As a result, trial-and-error is necessary for a time; improvements or worsening of the symptoms allow a narrowing of the picture, fine-tuning the types of chemicals and the amounts until a sweet spot can be reached, or at least a close approximation. How do we get these chemicals? Well, we get them by isolating them from the world around us and replicating them for efficient production for widespread use. This is the most reliable and effective means, since the measurements are very precise, thus allowing for easy, measurable intake that allows for predictability...something very important for schizophrenics, who often feel their symptoms in very unpredictable and uncontrollable ways, but also for anyone with any kind of neurological disorder.
The latter, however, would have you believe you can just will your mind to produce the right chemicals of its own volition, or that the chaos of nature can be trusted to provide precision and balance...without any guarantee that the chemicals are even the right ones. In other words, people like Catfish state that a brain already out of its own control can somehow just manage to get itself under control without intervention if it really wants to (completely ignoring that the structure of the brain itself is fucked up and that he and others like him believe that a machine with improper parts and wiring can somehow function according to specification), and people like Purple Purpose (Porpoise?) state that nature, which is constantly in flux and change and evolution and therefore highly unpredictable without human intervention, can be trusted to provide just the right chemicals in just the right amount simply by consuming certain plants or herbs or minerals.
I don't think I need to point out how flawed these kinds of thought are. The fallacies speak for themselves and are clear to anyone with a sense of perception and understanding. In either case, you are asking for the impossible. A machine with malfunctioning parts and wiring cannot be expected to function to how it is supposed to, and nature cannot be expected to just provide the solution for us just because we want it to. We must utilize scientific methods to provide those suffering from these disorders with the absolutely necessary precision of types of chemicals AND the equally important precision of measurement of said chemicals.
So, no, Catfish, you can't just wish yourself well, no matter how much you (hollowly) try to assert otherwise (without any kind of cited examples of such a thing being possible), and no, Purple, you can't just eat a bunch of herbs and nuts and expect to alleviate the symptoms. In fact, Purple's idea is the much worse, since this lack of precise control can mean that you are further upsetting the already off-balance amounts of chemicals in the brain, thus making the situation even worse rather than better, which is why alternative medicines are completely and totally ineffective in treating any of these disorders.
Discuss, everyone. If you have a contrary opinion, feel free to state it, but if you do not have any kind of information to provide backing for your argument, don't get butthurt when you are torn apart and called a fucking moron.
And be respectful. Several on this forum suffer these disorders, myself included (in the form of Bipolar 2 Disorder/clinical depression ((my psychologist is pretty sure it's clinical depression since the times where I am not depressed are not exactly classifiable as stages of mania, and the depressive feelings are very pervasive))), and it's insulting (and exceedingly dickish) on a very personal level to be told that something beyond your control that is negatively impacting your life is somehow your fault and that you are wrong for thinking that seeking treatment to mitigate the problems is a valid solution, and on an intellectual level to be told this by someone who doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. I am speaking directly to you, Catfish, on this: Do you tell terminally ill patients that they are weak, or whiners, for medicating themselves to alleviate their suffering? If so, you are a raging douchecanoe on the level of Mt. St Helens, and I recommend anyone who gave you reputation points to remove them lest you be seen complimenting a "man" who cruelly and willfully insults the suffering.
