I'm curious as to how this "turning off" of a part of the brain affects
other aspects of the patients lives. One of the nasty side effects of some
anti-depressants is that they can dull both the lows and the highs. I wonder
if CBT has the same effect....
-d
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry C. Lyons" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 4:55 PM
Subject: Psychotherapy acts likes drugs on the brain
> THERAPY WORKS LIKE DRUGS ON BRAIN
> By Elaine Carey
> The Toronto Star
> January 9, 2004
>
>
http://thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1073603407975&call_pageid=968867505381&col=969048872038
>
> Training patients to tune out the signals that cause major depression
> alters the chemicals in the brain as much as drugs do, a new study has
found.
>
> While the treatment -- called cognitive behaviour therapy -- changes
> different brain chemicals than drugs do, the overall effect is the same,
> says the study, led by the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest
Centre
> for Geriatric Care.
>
> The study, published this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, is
> the first to show how therapy changes the chemical balance in the brain,
> said Dr. Helen Mayberg, a senior scientist at the Rotman Institute.
>
> The researchers found that therapy targets many of the same brain regions
> as drug treatment but in different directions.
>
> It may help doctors better understand why a particular treatment might
work
> for one patient and not another, she said in an interview.
>
> Patients with clinical depression are commonly treated with drugs or
> therapy or a combination of both, but now have to go through a trial and
> error period until the best treatment with the fewest side effects is
found.
>
> "The way people are treated now depends on how they come to treatment,"
> Mayberg said.
>
> "If they go to a general practitioner, they probably get drugs because
it's
> hard work to do therapy. It requires a major time commitment.
>
> "But on the other hand, if your brain might best respond to therapy, who
> wants to take drugs if they don't have to?
>
> "We want to get to the point where people get what's best for them," she
> said. "This is just the first step."
>
> The study used positron emission tomography (PET) to pinpoint where
maximum
> changes in brain metabolism occur.
>
> In the study, 14 clinically depressed adults underwent 15 to 20 cognitive
> therapy sessions. Their brains were scanned before they began treatment
and
> at the end of the therapy.
>
> It found that as patients in therapy learn to turn off the thinking that
> leads them to dwell on negative thoughts and attitudes, the chemical
> activity in certain parts of the brain decreases as well.
>
> Brain scans may one day become a useful part of treatment for clinically
> depressed patients, Mayberg said, helping doctors to decide in advance
what
> would be the most effective treatment and to monitor its effectiveness.
>
>
>
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