Mental Illness In The Brain

I've always had complicated feelings about mental illnesses. It isn't necessarily something I would think about too much, but that the fact that I was lectured plenty of times on depression, ocd, bipolar disorder etc., but I was never taught on why it occurs. Why does people become such a different person? Most importantly, why does it occur? Mental illness is probably one of the most misunderstood illness, in terms of . At one time it was an illness that no one would dare talk about. It was an illness to be ashamed of and many patients were secretive about them. But now, things have changed and there is more research done and a much greater understanding. Research for mental illnesses are still quite limited simply because of the brain’s complexity. The brain may well be our body's most mysterious organ. Extremely fascinating, and an intensive study topic, we're left wondering: What exactly does the brain do and how? Despite years of intensive research, along with impressive technological advances, answers to many of our questions about the brain are still distant. The reason is quite simple: the brain contains more than ten billion cells interacting with each other through many connections ("Neuroscience Introductory"). It can be thought of as the total human population on Earth and all their interactions with each other. Imagine how much interactions there are among 10 billion different cells and how hard it is to find

The brain works with electrical signaling between neurons. Neuroscientist Karl Deisseroth oversaw the implantation of a device that sends electrical signals. The device sends impulses to the vagus nerve which is carried to a structure in the brain that regulates mood. ("Lighting the Brain"). The research and device provided opportunity for more techniques and methods for sending these signals in hopes of treating mental