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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SLS on April 1, 2024, at 10:43:24
What do we know about the biology of depression?
We know a lot, but understand very little.
Perhaps all you need to do is to assemble the data available on the Internet and synthesize a novel model for understanding the psychoneurobiology of depressive illness. It would lead to choosing the best treatment for each case. I hope you can do this. I cannot. The data is exploding at a rate that is very difficult to keep up with. This is a good thing.
Uncertainty is your best friend. Without God or an oracle revealing to you that your suffering will never end, having hope is logical.
For today, your best choice is to observe which treatments work rather than to predict which ones will work and which won't based upon guesses
Right now, I consider "Hugh" to be the most valuable source of information and novel ideas on Psycho-Babble. His knowledge regarding cutting-edge treatments for depression is far beyond mine. As far as creating valid reasons to have hope for your healing, keep reading Hugh's writings here.
- Scott
Posted by Hugh on April 5, 2024, at 12:12:38
In reply to What do we know about the biology of depression?, posted by SLS on April 1, 2024, at 10:43:24
I agree with you, Scott. We are acquiring knowledge about the brain at an astonishing pace. Our ability to assimilate this knowledge lags far behind. Maybe artificial intelligence will help us to figure things out.
Your post reminded me of an analogy that I like. It's been said that Napoleon could travel no faster than Julius Caesar, on land or on water. In the 200 years since Napoleon's death, the world has changed a great deal more than it did in the 1,800 years between Julius Caesar's time and Napoleon's. And the world continues to change at an ever-increasing pace -- far faster than our ability to adapt to these changes.
I appreciate your kind words about me. For many years, you have been a pillar of Psycho-Babble.
I think you'll find this discussion about the brain interesting:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/how.html
> What do we know about the biology of depression?
>
> We know a lot, but understand very little.
>
> Perhaps all you need to do is to assemble the data available on the Internet and synthesize a novel model for understanding the psychoneurobiology of depressive illness. It would lead to choosing the best treatment for each case. I hope you can do this. I cannot. The data is exploding at a rate that is very difficult to keep up with. This is a good thing.
>
> Uncertainty is your best friend. Without God or an oracle revealing to you that your suffering will never end, having hope is logical.
>
> For today, your best choice is to observe which treatments work rather than to predict which ones will work and which won't based upon guesses
>
> Right now, I consider "Hugh" to be the most valuable source of information and novel ideas on Psycho-Babble. His knowledge regarding cutting-edge treatments for depression is far beyond mine. As far as creating valid reasons to have hope for your healing, keep reading Hugh's writings here.
>
>
> - Scott
Posted by SLS on April 5, 2024, at 19:27:34
In reply to Re: What do we know about the biology of depression? » SLS, posted by Hugh on April 5, 2024, at 12:12:38
Hugh.
Up until 2000, pure neuroscience research was probably 10-20 years ahead of clinical therapies.
I'm sure I wrote a number of times that I was a research patient at the National Institutes of Health 1992-1993. My brain was one of the first to be imaged using a PET scan. It was a step forward. Unfortunately, pure neuroscience research was never yoked to clinical application. I was able to witness this first-hand throughout the 1980s. They were essentially different fields of study with very little communication between them. I wrote about this and imagined establishing a foundation for the application of neuroscience. Not too many years later, a new field called "translational medicine" emerged for exactly that purpose. Dr. Schmidt found a place for himself in this new discipline. I believe he still works for Johnson & Johnson in their translational medicine department.
So many great ideas were put forth by the Psycho-Babble community over its 25 year run. I find it interesting how one person can cause members to flee. There were two in particular. The first extinction event was caused by as single poster with immeasurable persistence that resulted in his name littering the board top to bottom. He was allowed by the administration to continue his behavior without admonishment. It started a war that only he could win. At some point, he disappeared, but those who fled never returned.
The second extinction event was caused by me. It occurred while I was in a drug-induced manic state. I can only hope that some of those who disappeared remembered my "critique" of their counterproductive treatment behavior. Changing drugs or drug dosages every 3-10 days is a formula for losing years of one's life to depressive illness. I understand the desperation that produces this behavior, especially since I did the same thing.
It is an exciting prospect that someone be treated using a brief exposure to a psychedelic and show a quick and enduring, robust improvement. I had always been under the impression that a drug that would produce an improvement in depression immediately - stimulants, for example - would not show durability over the long term. Ketamine definitely did not follow this paradigm, and has demonstrated its efficacy for quite a few years. Esketamine intra-nasal has been available since 2019. Psilocybin appears to be at least equipotent to ketamine (esketamine). Both drugs enhance of neuroplasticity. However, as of now, the mechanisms of action of the two drugs appear to be different.
Ketamine / Esketamine = NMDA glutamaate receptor antagonist.
Psilocybin = Serotonin (5-HT2a) receptor agonist.
I doubt that any of this is new to you, but perhaps others will benefit from it.
- Scott
Posted by Hugh on April 10, 2024, at 12:41:51
In reply to Re: What do we know about the biology of depression?, posted by SLS on April 5, 2024, at 19:27:34
Hi Scott,
I enjoy reading about your experiences at the NIH. You were a part of some pioneering research.
Your "extinction event" pales in comparison to the other extinction event that you mentioned. Another extinction event was when Psycho-Babble disappeared from the World Wide Web several years ago for several months. By the time Psycho-Babble finally returned, we had lost many members. On the bright side, one of the members we lost due to this extinction event was the troll you mentioned who had "immeasurable persistence."
This is the end of the thread.
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