Unified+Diversity-Learning+Team

Our learning team is going to research the brain and mental disorder treatments: past, present & future

Our paper should be broken-down by:

Introduction Brain Past Treatments Present Treatments Future Treatments Conclusion Refences http://www.sciencedaily.com/gallery/mind_brain/brain_injury/5/ http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/11/12/nicotine_studied_as_treatment_for_brain_disorders/ http://www.homeopathy-cures.com/html/mentalproblems.html http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070518160743.htm http://www.mwmc.com/services/behavioral-health/treatments.aspx?chunkiid=21740 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&hid=107&sid=9fb24585-37e3-411b-b82a-58f29d18757f%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=42411270

9/13/09: In a somewhat disturbing article by "Rick Weiss of the Washington Post" published on June 7th 2005: The article shows that the United States leads the way in Mental Disorder cases but is horribly behind when it comes to treatment. In today's society the everyday pressure of just living a normal life has driven many people into a dark place and they are not finding the light at the end of the tunnel. Very interesting, take a look.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601651.html

9/13/09: I found some great information in an article titled "American Experience/ A Brilliant Madness". It shows a time-line study all the way back from early 1400'S through 1992, which gives us amazing examples of treatments throughout history. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/gallery/index.html

9/9/09: I have found that a women by the name of Dorthea Dix practically changed the way the mentally ill were treated/housed back in the mid 1800's. She began volunteering at the East Cambridge jail (in Boston, MA) in 1841 and noticed how the mentally ill were treated just as prisoners ( at that time they were housed in jails...there were no treatment hospitals for them to go to). They were housed in unheated, unfurnished and horribly smelling cells. When she asked why she was told that the mentally ill cannot feel heat or cold nor could they smell anything. At the age of 39 she began to fight on behalf of the mentally ill. She made this her life work. She traveled all over the U.S. working to get legislation passed that would improve the care of those who suffered with mental illness. ~Liz Retrieved 9/9/09 from http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dorotheadix.html

9/9/09: More interesting stuff......electroshock therapy (AKA Electroconvulsive therapy). This was and still is a method of treatment for various mental illnesses. A definition, as given by the Mayo Clinic, is "Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure in which electric currents are passed through the brain, deliberately triggering a brief seizure. This seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can alleviate symptoms of certain mental illnesses." This treatment has been used for over 70 years and is still controversial.....me personally, there is no way, no how I would ever allow this treatment to be used on me!!! This to me is crazy!! ~Liz Retrieved 9/9/09 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/electroconvulsive-therapy/MY00129

9/9/09: I can't help myself, I am on a roll now people! Did you know that in the 1800's anything from alcoholism, masterbation even postpardum depression could land you in a mental hospital!!!!! Just imagine...I could have ended up in a mental hospital after my son was born back then! That is horrible! People who ended up in the mental hospitals had no rights either. In this article I am reading by Jan Ackerman, reporter with the Post-Gazette in Pittsburgh, PA, she is talking about the pending demolition of the Dixmont State Hospital. This hospital opened in 1862 and performed electroshock therapy and hydrotherapy as treatments. Hydrotherapy consisted of a patient being submerged for hours in scalding hot or ice cold water. Other forms of treatment included being sprayed down with water hoses, having bandages wrapped around the patients eyes and ears to keep them from being able to use those senses. The Dixmont State Hospital also began performing prefrontal lobectomies in the 1940's and 1950's as treatments also. The facilty was closed in 1984. ~Liz Retrieved 9/9/09 from http://www.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20030420dixmont2.asp

Wow Liz. Great Job. SJ

9/20/09: The Heritage American Dictionary defines mental illness as any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic, or other factors, such as infections or head trauma. The exact cause of mental illness is still not known but it is believed to be caused by a combination of factors. Those factors would be environmental, biological, biochemical and psychological. Examples of environmental factors are: living in poverty, change in job/school, dysfunctional family life, death, divorce and/or substance abuse (either by the person or their parents). Psychological factors would be: suffering trauma as a child (emotional, sexual or physical abuse), neglect, loss of someone one important (parent, grandparent). Biochemical factors would be hormonal imbalances and changes in brain chemicals, such as neurotransmitters (which are linked to mood). Biological factors include genetics (yes, mental illness can be hereditary), substance abuse, infection (there are certain infections that can cause brain damage and lead to mental illness. An example would be the Streptococcus bacteria, also known as strep throat, which has been linked to causing obsessive compulsive disorder in children. There has been some evidence that people who suffer mental illness have physical changes in their brains. ~Liz Retrieved 9/20/09 from [|http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/mental-health-causes-mental-illness] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mental illness []

9/24/09: In2007 researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine conducted at study with patients that suffered from Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. They used computerized vests that monitor the movements of the patients continous movements offereing a promising approach to the underlying function of patients. This will allow researchers to see what conditions cause the patients to go into their mental states. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com-/releases/2007/05/070518160743.htm

Excellent topic! mw