Most mental health diagnosis is made without seeing the brain. Clinic and researchers have discussion Whether it is helpful for brain imaging and technology, but there are many things to learn a lot before it becomes a everyday part of treatment.
electric current Approach To diagnose mental illness, it is known by the diagnosis and statistical manual (DSM) of mental disorders presented in the American Psychological Association. During the evaluation, the patient reports the symptoms by himself, and the clinician uses the manual to find out which disorders are the best.
Because DSM was not developed Neuroscience (It was made ~ Before Invention of brain image tools available today), Billions of dollars I went to research to identify Biomarker It can explain the biological causes of mental illness. That attempt It was rarely producedBut research on brain image technology, especially some tools, made a particularly notable progress.
The first is magnetic resonance video (MRI). Mris I can do it Detect Subtle of the structure and function of the brain between a healthy subject and a mental illness.
for example, MRI study I found them Bipolar and Major depressive disorders The gray protein is thinner in several parts of the brain than a healthy patient. different research We have found an atypical nerve reaction associated with emotional treatment and regulation of patients with mood disorders.
In addition to the possibility of diagnostic, brain images can be verified for clinical treatment. For example, the MRI scan showed a real difference in the brain after conversation therapy.
One random study Of the 14 participants, 70%of patients with panic disorders reported that after four treatment sessions, compared to 7%of the control group, the brain showed noticeable healing. Similarly random study Of the 59 patients, patients who have been treated with depression have been found to increase the amount of gray protein in the cortex compared to those who have not been treated.
The second technology that shows potential is a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). This nuclear test captures 3D image Blood flow activity in other areas of the brain. They can find unless it is invisible in anatomical scanes such as ultrasound.
While doing usually The Spect Brain scan, used to assess stroke and seizures, has been used in some psychiatry recently. For example, they are one of the most reliable tools. Distinguish Between post -traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain damage similar Symptoms.
Brain images can also be an important tool. decide Whether symptoms are the result of mental illness or other body causeI like toxic exposure and head trauma.
For example, A examine Among the 12 studies (more than 1,600 participants), 6%of them were originally experiencing psychosis episodes. more This has changed diagnosis and treatment. Some conditions that were found to explain the symptoms were encephalitis, brain tumors and dementia.
Qualitative study The SPECT scan has found that even in the case of complex psychiatrists, it helps to find brain trauma. Since the patient may not remember or report the head trauma to the clinician during mental health evaluation, the specification can be used for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients suspected of traumatic brain damage.
In other words, many unknown people remain.
For example, there is evidence that brain image can be monitored stably for brain function. appropriate This helps a large -scale research that helps diagnosis Mental disorder. To date, all studies have a small group of patients Biomarker The study should be more convinced that the large sample size is not wrong with the proposal of a small study.
There are also more things to do to clarify the degree of generalization. For example, researchers at Yale University study Trauma exposure, brain activity monitoring of emergency room patients with a new population: Israeli trauma survivor. Although it could match the cluster of brain activity observed in the first study, it could not be found related to symptoms of post -traumatic stress disorders such as others.
There are also limitations of imaging technology. For example, it cannot be used by itself when the disability exists similarly. one study In many areas of the brain, the protein change was found to be almost the same in patients with attention deficiency/hyperactivity disorders and autism spectrum disorders.
Brain video is unlikely to be a daily diagnostic tool in mental health care. It’s still too much to learn. But the research that exists is promising. Currently, imaging is a tool that helps clinic to rule or exclude causes other than mental health.
The study of this work was supported by Arnold Ventures.
