Posted by Squiggles on September 17, 2006, at 10:16:22
In reply to Re: the brain, posted by bassman on September 17, 2006, at 9:58:50
When i look at articles on PubMed and
read books on the theories about causes
of mental illness, i am always impressed
by the variety of biochemical models
presented to explain what is going on.
The serotonin theory is one prevalent
today, but not the only one. Also, the
actual causes that lead to mental illness
are variable. Whether they all target the
same neurotransmitters, regardless of their
origin, or not, in order to make a person
depressed or happy, or forgetful, is
a difficult question. I think it is still
a huge field under investigation.But for practical purposes, what is important
to people now, is that they have something to
take to prevent them from becoming seriously
ill, as that can lead to suffering and tragedies
in their life and the life of others.So, as a layman, i can only appreciate
psychiatry and psychopharmacology from
an empirical point of view. The rest, you
really have to have a medical degree, and
a lot of insight and imagination. And yes,
i agree, the drug companies do not aspire
to scientific discovery as their ideal,
unfortunately.Squiggles
poster:Squiggles
thread:686603
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060909/msgs/686768.html