Apr 9, 2024 06:22 PM
https://www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-p...om-memory/
EXCERPTS: Even though a remarkable 21 percent of adults in the United States will experience a mood disorder at some point in their lives, we do not fully understand what causes them, and existing treatments do not work for everyone...
[...] Among contemporary brain and mind researchers, I have yet to find any whose position is driven by the notion that some force in the universe beyond the brain, like a nonmaterial soul, gives rise to mood. Rather, the researchers generally agree that our brains mediate all mental function. If everyone agrees that both memory and mood disorders follow from things that happen in the brain, why would the former but not the latter qualify as “brain disorders”?
For many researchers, the debate centers on the level of focus: Does the brain or the mind cause fluctuations in mood? [...] some researchers argue that the brain is not a useful level to think about the causes of mood and mood disorders insofar as we want to understand and treat them.
To elaborate a bit more, consider the phrase “insomnia causes fatigue.” No one disputes it. But what do we mean by it? There’s not a physical thing in the world, insomnia, that acts directly on another physical thing, fatigue. Rather, we mean that a lack of sleep causes the brain state that leads to the mind state of fatigue; in this case, insomnia and fatigue are not physical things but abstractions. If we want to help someone with insomnia, the most obvious way to intervene is not to determine the configuration of that person’s ion channels or which of their brain areas are underactive, but rather to help them figure out how to get some sleep. By extension, some researchers propose that understanding mood at the psychological level, such as how a person experiences rewards, punishments and surprises relative to their expectations and beliefs, will have the greatest impact....
[...] On the other end of the spectrum are those who argue that all mood disorders are brain disorders. Researchers who adopt this position acknowledge that, though environmental factors play a role, the same is true for people with memory impairment or even diabetes; in this view, memory is conceptually no different from mood. Advocates concede that, yes, of course, we should research the psychological and social factors that exacerbate these conditions, as we do for memory and diabetes research. But the bulk of our research efforts and dollars should focus on the biological phenomenon that mediates disease—in the case of diabetes, the pancreas and insulin; in the case of memory and mood disorders, the brain.
Some advocates of this position argue that because psychological variables are not physical—as in the insomnia “causes” fatigue example—it may be exceedingly difficult or impossible to establish cause and effect without investigating their physical correlates in the brain. Finally, advocates of this position point to evidence that brain- and body-based interventions, including antidepressants and exercise, as well as noninvasive and deep brain stimulation, work for at least some people with mood disorders...
Many psychiatrists adopt a more nuanced position, in which the best level to explain the causes of mood and to target interventions for mood disorders depends on many factors, which can vary from person to person. For mood disorders, both medicine and behavioral therapies, most notably cognitive behavioral therapy, can be effective. By contrast, behavioral interventions are not effective for memory disorders to the same degree. And the most effective treatment strategy will differ for different people....
[...] A final, more up-and-coming position draws from notions in physics, emphasizing the need to acknowledge that mood is an emergent property of a complex system... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Even though a remarkable 21 percent of adults in the United States will experience a mood disorder at some point in their lives, we do not fully understand what causes them, and existing treatments do not work for everyone...
[...] Among contemporary brain and mind researchers, I have yet to find any whose position is driven by the notion that some force in the universe beyond the brain, like a nonmaterial soul, gives rise to mood. Rather, the researchers generally agree that our brains mediate all mental function. If everyone agrees that both memory and mood disorders follow from things that happen in the brain, why would the former but not the latter qualify as “brain disorders”?
For many researchers, the debate centers on the level of focus: Does the brain or the mind cause fluctuations in mood? [...] some researchers argue that the brain is not a useful level to think about the causes of mood and mood disorders insofar as we want to understand and treat them.
To elaborate a bit more, consider the phrase “insomnia causes fatigue.” No one disputes it. But what do we mean by it? There’s not a physical thing in the world, insomnia, that acts directly on another physical thing, fatigue. Rather, we mean that a lack of sleep causes the brain state that leads to the mind state of fatigue; in this case, insomnia and fatigue are not physical things but abstractions. If we want to help someone with insomnia, the most obvious way to intervene is not to determine the configuration of that person’s ion channels or which of their brain areas are underactive, but rather to help them figure out how to get some sleep. By extension, some researchers propose that understanding mood at the psychological level, such as how a person experiences rewards, punishments and surprises relative to their expectations and beliefs, will have the greatest impact....
[...] On the other end of the spectrum are those who argue that all mood disorders are brain disorders. Researchers who adopt this position acknowledge that, though environmental factors play a role, the same is true for people with memory impairment or even diabetes; in this view, memory is conceptually no different from mood. Advocates concede that, yes, of course, we should research the psychological and social factors that exacerbate these conditions, as we do for memory and diabetes research. But the bulk of our research efforts and dollars should focus on the biological phenomenon that mediates disease—in the case of diabetes, the pancreas and insulin; in the case of memory and mood disorders, the brain.
Some advocates of this position argue that because psychological variables are not physical—as in the insomnia “causes” fatigue example—it may be exceedingly difficult or impossible to establish cause and effect without investigating their physical correlates in the brain. Finally, advocates of this position point to evidence that brain- and body-based interventions, including antidepressants and exercise, as well as noninvasive and deep brain stimulation, work for at least some people with mood disorders...
Many psychiatrists adopt a more nuanced position, in which the best level to explain the causes of mood and to target interventions for mood disorders depends on many factors, which can vary from person to person. For mood disorders, both medicine and behavioral therapies, most notably cognitive behavioral therapy, can be effective. By contrast, behavioral interventions are not effective for memory disorders to the same degree. And the most effective treatment strategy will differ for different people....
[...] A final, more up-and-coming position draws from notions in physics, emphasizing the need to acknowledge that mood is an emergent property of a complex system... (MORE - missing details)