Posted by SLS on September 27, 2010, at 15:44:35
In reply to Re: Have our brains been permanently damaged? » SLS, posted by olivia12 on September 27, 2010, at 12:37:58
> Maybe it was not the meds--maybe it was just you evolving into more pronounced version of what prompted the docs to medicate you?
What is the "it" you are referring to? I don't understand.
> do you mean to say your brain chemistry was forever altered?
Unfortunately.
As an example, neuroleptics can produce as a side effect irreversible tardive dyskinesia. You give someone Haldol, they develop a characteristic movement disorder, you stop the Haldol, and the movement disorder persists.
It may be that neuroplasticity tends to occur in one direction over another - downhill rather than uphill. My responsivity to antidepressants has decreased over the years. The drugs that worked 25 years ago do not work now. Something has changed. It seems that my responsivity to antidepressants has deteriorated over the years rather than being enhanced. How does one explain tachyphylaxis (poop-out), the phenomenon wherein an individual responds to drug treatment for only a short period of time? They seem to develop a resistance to ever responding to that drug again. It is the exposure of the brain to medication that is the stimulus for this to occur.
Scientists have been permanently altering (damaging) mouse and rat brains with chemicals as experiments for decades. They can even be selective in terms of the systems and regions of the brain they damage.
Does chronic alcohol consumption produce permanent changes in the brain? What prevents an antidepressant from doing the same thing?
Not only can chemicals produce permanent changes in the brain, but so can experiences. PTSD is a good example of how this can occur. Even experiences in the womb can determine many of the persistent behavioral traits that an individual will demonstrate for the rest of their lives.
- ScottThe measure of achievement lies not in how high the mountain,
but in how hard the climb.The measure of success lies only in how high one feels he must
climb to get there.
poster:SLS
thread:962635
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100926/msgs/963983.html