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

personality. Thus, a leading cause of death in the United States, suicide, can be linked to a medical problem. Mental illness, at first glance, does not appear to be more serious than heart or respiratory disease. However, mental illness leaves its victims disabled, making it one the most serious classes of diseases in the 21st century. Insel cites three reasons for seriousness of mental disease. First, mental disorders are common; about one in five people will suffer from a mental disorder in the course of their lifetime. Secondly, mental disorders are disabling. Lastly, mental disorders manifest themselves early when compared to other disease such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. In the words of Insel, “Mental illness is the chronic disorder of young people.”
With so many young people losing their quality of life at an early age, biomedical research must search for better techniques and treatments in the battle against mental illness. To start, mental disorders should be reclassified as brain disorders because the term insinuates there is a physical cause that can be studied empirically. But where should biomedical researchers go next?
The brain is an astoundingly complex organ with around 86 billion neurons and approximately 100 trillion synapses. Brain researchers are just beginning to understand how to study the brain, let alone make significant discoveries about its processing ability. Hence, the cutting-edge work of researchers like Nancy Kanwisher and David C. Van Essen is essential because it attacks the unexplored areas of the brain, shedding light on the intricate neural networks responsible for human behavior. Insel so creatively said, “Its actually a cruel trick of evolution that we simply don’t have a brain that seems to be wired well enough to understand it.” However, through studies, like the human connectome project, brain researchers are developing connectivity maps of the brain that have significant medical applications.
The biomedical mechanism of brain disorders such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder are not well known.

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

intervention.
Early detection and intervention are crucial components to a holistic medical diagnosis. Thus, it is no accident that early detection is such a common routine in the medical field. Ever wondered why there is always a blood pressure cuff in Wal-Mart? A blood pressure test is a quick and easy way to detect cardiovascular disease. The risk of colon cancer is substantial after the age of fifty. Hence, family physicians recommend preventative colonoscopies ever ten years after age fifty. My high school golf coach is another example of the necessity of early detection. After participating in a free, preventative PSA screening, he was told he might have prostate cancer. He sought the advice of his physician and was diagnosed with prostate cancer. However, because the cancer was caught early he added significant years to his life. This is just one of many success stories as a result of early detection.
Thus, I think Insel’s conclusion is spot on.

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

intervention.