Millions of people suffer from depression everyday, while a smaller subset experience treatment-resistant depression. “Treatment-Resistant depression is a severely disabling disorder with no proven treatment options once multiple medications, psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy have failed” (Mayberg, 651). In Theo’s case, his episode of depression was brought on by a terrible life experience and though he had a prior episode of depression in early adulthood, this episode proved to reject all forms of treatment. Now considering the novel treatment of deep brain stimulation, Theo and his wife, Suzy, have concerns and questions about the possible long term effects of deep brain stimulation and evidence that suggests that a treatment that …show more content…
Assuming that the Theo receives the treatment and that it has an antidepressant effect, reprogramming the stimulator would could give him a different personality by either increasing or decreasing the intensity of his personality traits. I would define personality according to the definition provided by professors of psychology Randy Larsen and David Buss. “Personality is the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments” (Larsen & Buss, 4). The phrase “relatively enduring” is significant because it acknowledges that personality is somewhat dynamic, in that it develops over a lifespan and changes according to life circumstances. However, evidence suggests that these fluctuations are moderate, even minimal, due to genes and the tendency for “people to select, create, and construe environments in ways that reinforce and maintain their initial trait dispositions” (Klein, 271). Psychologists have identified a model that consolidates aspects of personality to five general traits: neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience (Klein, 270). When a person is experiencing depression, there are certain …show more content…
Once more, how does his choice to alter the parameters to achieve certain personality markers affect his status? Well, this depends on how you define machine. A machine is device that magnifies human physical or mental capabilities in performing an operation (Machine). Deep brain stimulation involves implanting electrodes into the brain to induce changes to obtain clinical improvement in people with depression. Essentially, Theo will be perceived as part human and part machine because the electrodes that receive electric stimulation are magnifying his mental capabilities in order for him to properly function in daily life. In the case of Theo receiving the treatment to simply treat his depression, deep brain stimulation would be acting as a restorative technology that is operating to restore Theo to his normal function and identity. In reality, this is not much different that using implanted cardiac pacemakers or artificial joints. However, if this treatment is taken a step further to optimize aspects of Theo’s personality, then in turns into an enhancement technology, which may be perceived with a more negative
This paper will have two sections: The first section will be a brief explanation on what is depression. In addition, what is the percentage of depress people in the United States. Furthermore, it will discuss in details several theories that are best suited to treat depression disorder. Moreover, the theories that will be briefly discussed are as follows: Cognitive Therapy (CT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). The second section will be a summary of a counseling session the learner had with a client and the treatment that was given to help alleviate and ceased the depression from reoccurring.
A 38-year-old single woman, Gracie, was referred for treatment of depressed mood. She spoke of being stressed out due to conflicts at work, and took a bunch of unknown pills. She reported feeling a little depressed prior to this event following having ovarian surgery and other glandular medical problems. She appeared mildly anxious and agitated. She is frequently tearful, but says she does not have any significant sleep or appetite disturbance. She does, however, endorse occasional suicidal ideation, but no perceptual disturbances and her thoughts are logical and goal-directed.
Unlike Naomi, Eric does not respond to drug therapy. Therefore, instead of a drug therapy, Eric receives the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or brain stimulation often an effective treatment for patients like Eric with severe depression who does not respond to a drug therapy. By shocking the brain, the ECT manipulates the brain’s chemical imbalance produced by the social-cultural stress experience. But after eleven ECTs in a month, Eric cannot function because of the temporary side effects of memory loss and confusion affecting his concentration to play the viola and his well-being. Then after four months of receiving ECT treatment, Eric returns to normal social functioning as a musician. Six months later, Eric is still playing the viola and has had no recurrence of his
During the later part of the 19th century magents were used to induce neuronal activity; however, in the later part of the 20th century, Barker and his colleagues illustrated that magnetic stimulation in human motor cortexes produces depolarization of cortical areas (Eitan, & Lerer, 2006). TMS is a noninvasive therapeutic technique where an electromagnetic coil is put above the awake patient’s scalp and then magnetic pulses are moved throughout the brain (George, Lisanby, & Sackeim, 1999). The magnetic pulses and coil combine to create an electrical activity in the cortical tissue which can cause localized neuronal depolarization. Not only has TMS been the topic of many recent research studies, but deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (deepTMS) has also been researched to decipher the effectiveness for treating depression. DeepTMS is when the coils have been designed to create a more intense electrical field deep in the brain tissue. DeepTMS uses several separate points of projection around the periphery of the brain while minimizing the electrical charge to the br...
Currently, there is a lack of studies in regards to whether or not this therapy causes significant damage to the brain. Correspondingly, there is little research done in regards to how great relapse rates are and how long the treatment can truly last. Consequently, many people have abstained from receiving treatment to avoid any possibility of impairment or reversion. However, it has not been denied nor confirmed that ECT directly causes the aforementioned results. Moreover, many theories created to downplay electroconvulsive therapy’s effectiveness are being brought back into the spotlight, including one that attributes ECT’s success to brain damage. Breggin states, “More recently [Harold] Sackeim and Sackeim with a team of colleagues have covertly revived the principle that a therapeutic response depends upon the degree of brain damage and dysfunction” (par. 17). Although this theory was made to discredit ECT, there has been no research done to disprove its accuracy. Furthermore, because of a lack of research, when a new study such as this comes out, many people believe it right away no matter how erroneous it may actually be. More research on ECT is desperately needed to see if these theories are factual or not. As a result of these truths or fallacies, the therapy can be improved upon
As a Psychiatrist, they are to proficiently understand the function of the human mind to be able to penetrate into their patient’s thoughts and feelings. These medical doctors are required to spend approximately twelve years gaining a better insight into the complex structure of the brain. They are trained to understand how specific sections of the brain work together to achieve varieties of functions and how a mutation can cause a severe malfunction (Zorumski and Rubin). As a result of the years spent training, Psychiatrists are to differentiate and categorize physical and psychosomatic stress caused by chemical changes in the special parts of the brain. Psychiatrists are also trained to use neurotic technologies such as deep brain stimulation. Additionally, the medical doctors are equi...
Depression is a chronic, cognitive illness characterized by a prolonged state of melancholy coupled with helplessness and continued pessimism. This illness is initiated by numerous situations including traumatic experience or simply a valuable loss, causing neurological, emotional and physical changes. Depressive patients are unable to continue life as normal due to constant fear of the future mirroring past experiences. Research and investigation are constantly conducted in this area of health and there are many avenues of treatment provided by health professionals today.
The most common solution to medicate with is either antidepressants or a form of psychotherapy. Antidepressants affects brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, the goal of the medication is to restore a sense of chemical balance in the brain, and relieving the individual from a constant state of depression. A doctor may prescribe a patient antidepressants for up to several months, depending on the severity. Psychotherapy, on the other hand, involves a routine discussion with a mental health care specialist (Depression and College Students). There is an incredibly large amount of different antidepressant to cater to those who may not respond to one type of medication. However, often these medicines come with a large list of side-effects. A good friend of mine described the side-effects of his experience with antidepressants, which included difficulty concentrating, insomnia, mood swings, among many other personal side-effects. He would often find it difficult to cope with the amount of side-effects, and he found them to be interfering with his daily routine. However, considering the dangers of depression, he would agree that the side-effects seem to be the lesser of the two
Depression supplies a distinct depiction of the brain equals behavior theory. The physiological characteristics that taint the diseased brain directly impact the thoughts and behaviors of the millions of sufferers. The genesis of this dehabilitating problem is both mysterious and complicated and I am not offering any sort of revelation in stating that it is a multi-factorial manifestation involving both biological and environmental components. The end product of these variable factors do, however, provide some common biochemical alterations in the brain that lend insight into understanding the reality and possible treatment of the disease.
Scientific experimentation shows a destructive nature of man through stereotypes. Stereotypes are cruel and heartless. “He makes the same mistakes as the others when they look at a feeble-minded person and laugh because they don’t understand there are human feelings involved. He doesn’t realise I was a person before I came here.” (Keyes, 145) Before the surgery Charlie was looked down upon because of his mental state. However, after the surgery he is treated like he was made by the scientists, as though he was their very own ‘Frankenstein’. This is a destructive nature of man because after the surgery Charlie finds out that his so called friends have been making fun of him his whole life. Stereotypes show a destructive nature of man. “People with mental illness are depicted as burdens to society and incapable of contributing in positive ways to their communities.” (Edney) Through this book the reader knows this statement is false, because Charlie is able to function fairly well in society, considering he has a job and he is doing very well there. Stereotypes show a destructive nature of man because they belittle people and make them feel worthless.
I am quite fascinated by generalized control mechanisms and the role they play in the nervous system. I am also quite curious about the relationship between different generalized control mechanisms. The concept of mood and depression in particular have always interested me. I have always wondered what actually causes depression. Why can some people be in a perfectly good mood one day and then less than a week later start exhibiting the signs of clinical depression? I have always been curious about the role that experience and chemical imbalances play in depression and other mood disorders. I donUt totally understand how chemical depression can originate as the result of severe outside stressors in a personUs life. How can this stress go from simply stress in the experiences and environment of a person to a chemical imbalance? I have also wondered why certain people are more susceptible to depression than others. I am curious about whether genetics play a role in depression and whether certain people are more susceptible to depression because of the environment they live in or because of pharmacological reasons and genes. Throughout our class this year, I have wondered about the role that the I-function plays in depression. I find it interesting that it is possible to wake up one morning and be in a nasty mood even if I want to be in a good mood and my I-function is thinking RhappyS thoughts. Through my research for this paper I wanted to find out more about the different kinds of depression and exactly what goes on chemically in the brain when a person is depressed. I also wanted to do a little research on how depression can be treated. I wanted to try and determine how and when the line of simp...
Rupke, S., Blecke, D., & Renfrow, M. (2006, January 1). Cognitive therapy for depression. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16417069?dopt=Abstract
...l personality disorder whereby a qualified psychotherapist is involved. Most therapies focus on the patient’s emotions and how he/she is to be helped to live like other normal people in the society. All patients need mental health from qualified professionals in order to be able to live a normal life, or else, they remain dangerous to their family members, and the community at large.
The biologic basis of Clinical Depression originates in the brain. Your brain is made up of a complex network of nerve cells, called neurons and of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters transmit messages from one neuron to another. Two of these neurotransmitters are not produced in sufficient quantities in a depressed person’s brain. Because of this lack, too few messages get transmitted between neurons and the symptoms of depression occur. In Clinical depression the chemicals in the brain are out-of-balance. New technology allows researchers to take pictures of the brain that show activity levels in the brain. These imaging techniques such as f-MRI and PET scan actually create images of how active different parts of the brain are. Some studies with these kinds of techniques have suggested that the patterns of activation in the brains of depressed people are different than those who are not. These tests can help doctors and researchers learn more about depression and other mental illnesses. Since this research is fairly new, it is not yet used to diagnose clinical depression.
Antidepressant drugs are designed to correct the imbalance. Sutton believes that feedback between his brain machine and MRI pictures of the brain at work will provide more insight not only of depression and Alzheimer's, but of stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other disorders that affect large areas of the brain. In one experiment, he and his colleagues looked at pictures of brains while their owners did simple motor tasks, such as tapping their fingers in simple and complex patterns. As expected, they saw activity in small networks of cells located in brain areas that control movements.