Mental Illness: Bio-Medical Research

Bio-medical research has reversed the gloomy prognosis for many serious diseases such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, heart disease, and AIDS. The success of such treatments is attributed new medical techniques, providing early detection and intervention. Thomas Insel’s TED Talk entitled Toward A New Understanding of Mental Illness focuses on the shifting the bio-medical picture in which we frame mental illness. Insel begins his discussion of mental illness by considering the condition of suicide. After sharing shocking statistics concerning the number of suicides in the United States each year, he makes the case that behind 90% of all suicides there are mental conditions like bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, and borderline

Nevertheless, brain researchers, specifically those working on the HCP, are beginning to unveil abnormal patterns in circuitry within patients diagnosed with these mental disorders. Insel described these mental disorders as traffic jams or detours. He then proceeded to give an in depth example of schizophrenia because the disease shows the significance of classifying mental illness as brain disorders. Research has shown a loss of grey matter within the brains of diagnosed schizophrenia patients. Thus, we begin to see the physical effects of a previously classified mental or behavioral disorder. The loss of cortical grey matter continues until a threshold is reached and at this point the patient is diagnosed with schizophrenia. In this example, the threshold is defined as the behavioral manifestation of schizophrenia. However, Insel believes with modern imagine techniques brain disorders like schizophrenia can be diagnosed at earlier stages. Behavioral changes are the final symptoms of a brain disorder. Thus, to prevent brain disorders, researchers must follow the path of previous researchers who developed treatments for diseases such as AIDS and heart disease. The key to treating and possibly preventing brain disorders is early detection and

In order to combat mental illness we need to find methods for early detection and intervention. Bio-medical research is beginning to find new techniques for assigning physical abnormalities to mental disorders. In the case of schizophrenia, brain scanning is able to detect a loss in cortical grey matter. Nevertheless, there is a second part to preventing disease and that is early intervention. In the case of my high school golf coach, the interventions were not available to provide a cure. Similarly, I think there is a lack of treatments for brain disorders and the treatments available only manage the symptoms. Let this serve as an example of the importance of bio-medical and neuroscience research. In the TED Talk Insel mentions that one in five people will struggle with a mental illness at some point in their life. Thus, there is a great need for better methods of detection and