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Not all in the mind - David Nutt
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This is David Nutt's lesson: not all in the mind.
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Not all in the mind - David NuttBrain: the brain exists out of neurons and these neurons connect with each other through
neurotransmitters
- There are two main elements of brain functions:
• Regions/circuits
• Chemicals/ neurotransmitters
➔ (hardware vs software?)
- Neurotransmitters have multiple receptors, that’s the reason why they can
communicate trough a lot of ways !
There are three major drivers in terms of our understanding of the science of the brain and
psychiatry:
- Imaging = the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the
structure, function, or pharmacology of the nervous system
- Molecular neuroscience = trying to decode the relationship between genes, proteins,
structures and functions of neurons
- Genetics = in particular of vulnerability to psychiatric disorder and structural problems
in disorders
David Nutt: he focusses on imaging, because this gets us closer to where the action is.
↓
Neuroimaging techniques:
- Structural imaging:
o MRI = magnetic resonance imaging
- Functional imaging:
o Measures changes in blood flow and blood flow activity
▪ PET / SPECT = radioactive tracers
▪ fMRI = magnetic changes
• Example: multiple sclerosis and glioma (tumor) are detectable
by fMRI-scan
▪ EEG = electroencephalography
▪ MEG = magnetoencephalography
o Neural chemistry
▪ PET/ SPECT
▪ MRSpectroscopy
▪ We can measure the release of neurotransmitters in the brain by
displacement of a radioactive tracer
, Drug addiction
Alcohol is the most destructive drug to the brain: it shrinks the brain
This image shows normal vs alcohol addiction
- The brains of people with alcohol addiction have more black stuff in the middle
= the black stuff is water
= the brain tissue has shrunk, because of too much drinking and that’s why there is
more water
- These brains are as damaged as people with Alzheimer’s disease and almost
indistinctable from people with Alzheimer’s
o Chronic alcohol consumption is probably the most common preventable cause
of Alzheimer
o 20% of all Alzheimer’s are probably due to alcohol consumption
Example: Amy Winehouse: died of combination of drugs and alcohol.
- She stopped using heroin and quit drinking, but she relapsed at drinking and died with
an alcohol level that wouldn’t have killed her if she hadn’t stop drinking → she died
because she had lost tolerance
- There is almost no treatment available for preventing relapse !
Government: “All you need to do is just stop using alcohol or drugs for 6 weeks to be cured”
- In fact, this puts the person in much bigger risk of dying, almost everyone relapses
- And because of the low tolerance, their chances of dying are big
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