Posted by Schess81 on October 2, 2005, at 16:43:00
In reply to Picking a Psychiatrist?, posted by lynn970 on September 30, 2005, at 16:03:07
I researched it a while back, and a neuro-psychiatrist uses imaging tech (MRI,CT) to help diagnose a paitent, and from there decides what drugs to prescribe. I think you would go to one if you suspected you had brain damage(say from a car accident or stroke). Neuro-psychologist are similiar, except they do a bunch of simple low tech tests with you (using things like flash cards etc.)to assess your cognitive functing, again deciding if & where you have suffered any brain damage. Anyway, I think you usually go to these type of Drs if you are looking to sue for disability money.
I had wondered if they could use fMRIs to help diagnose depression, decide what drugs would work best for you, but from what I read about them (neuro-psychiatrists) on the internet, It didnt sound like they did that. My dream is that in the future imaging will become cheap and sophisticated so that brain scans will commonly be used to diagnose and differentiate different sub-types of depression, and that we wouldnt have to waste time on meds that dont work. Oh well, I guess I'm rambling..
poster:Schess81
thread:561320
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050927/msgs/561998.html