Posted by Xevious on July 16, 2002, at 23:47:05
In reply to Re: Someone please shoot some holes in this story... » Squiggles, posted by Ritch on July 16, 2002, at 22:54:06
A while back, I read an article (I'm still searching for it; I'll post details if I find it) that reported research findings from SPECT scans showing the before/after serotonin systems of the brains of depressed patients. (SPECT imagery provides the most precise snapshot of a brain's neurochemical condition of any scanning technology available at the moment, and can in fact empirically determine to a large extent many psychiatric disorders, including depression.)
The results were surprising; patients given an antidepressant (can't remember which one) showed a marked change in brain chemistry after three weeks. Those given a placebo ALSO showed marked changes in brain chemistry, but appeared to have compensated not by inhibiting reuptake but by manufacturing more serotonin. The third group (control) was given an informational brochure on depression and showed little change in brain chemistry.
A similar study was conducted on the effectiveness of psychotherapy vs. antidepressant, and found that psychotherapy also has an effect on a patient's neurochemistry. The brain is a strange beast, indeed.
poster:Xevious
thread:112339
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020709/msgs/112606.html