imPsimon
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What students on ketamine tell us about schizophrenia
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New Scientist ketamine article
- Thread starter imPsimon
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yeah it is.
I don't think it will ever be possible to perfectly mimic schizophrenia in any model without actually having an individual with schizophrenia. Drugs can only touch on certain aspects of the disease. Regardless its still a useful approach to finding good treatments. Every time you find a drug that has some similarities with psychosis once you figure out its mechanism you have the potential for a new treatment.
every chemical ligand which mimics some aspect of schizophrenia merely represents a quantum dot color in a vast array of hues.
As soon as i saw this i thought here we go again... another drug 'mimic's' schizophrenia. The media will likely latch onto this and claim that ketamine causes schizophrenia in everyone that uses it.
Another day at the circus.
Another day at the circus.
Autodidactic
Rising Star
xtechre said:
Agreed, it really is no wonder why drugs particularly the good ones have such a bad stigma. They used to tell everyone cannabis caused black guys to rape white women to help get it made illegal.
One of my main objections is that many substances only lead to bahaviour or thinking patterns that could apear to be 'like schizofrenia' from the ouside, but that this is just some perception of the outcome of the whole drug/brain-proces without ever knowing if the processes taking place inside the persons skull even remotely resemble those of schizofrenia.
The fact that someone speaks incoherently about vague concepts like a schizofrenic could do, is no proof that his brain is actually functioning like that of a schizofrenic.
The fact that someone speaks incoherently about vague concepts like a schizofrenic could do, is no proof that his brain is actually functioning like that of a schizofrenic.
Scizophrenia is an umbrella term for a number of conditions which have some key features in common but there are certainly distinct differences between the sub-divisions.
There are many ways to 'reproduce' certain aspects of the condition (or certainly appear to do this) and this involves tinkering with many different neurotransmitter systems.
As with most psychiatric ailments which are commonly diagnosed, we certainly lack a full understanding of what goes on.I think the interplay of all the different neurotransmitters is relevant, and because the number of such transmitters is large, its the relative interplay between them which causes the symptoms to become apparent.The different permutations are quite numerous.
There are many ways to 'reproduce' certain aspects of the condition (or certainly appear to do this) and this involves tinkering with many different neurotransmitter systems.
As with most psychiatric ailments which are commonly diagnosed, we certainly lack a full understanding of what goes on.I think the interplay of all the different neurotransmitters is relevant, and because the number of such transmitters is large, its the relative interplay between them which causes the symptoms to become apparent.The different permutations are quite numerous.
Even if a drug only appears to superficially mimic an aspect of schizophrenia it can lead to the development of new drugs which treat real disease symptoms. This has already happened many times. Ketamine and related substances are leading in the same direction. This is a positive thing as it will lead to new treatments. Its already happened with substances that effect the dopamine and serotonin systems.
I don't view this article as putting a negative spin on ketamine. It doesn't say that ketamine causes schizophrenia and there is no evidence that it does. There are many other articles developing schizophrenia type models with ketamine.
Interesting to me anyway it seems different drugs can mimic different types of schizophrenia. Amphetamines can mimic the kind of paranoid delusions, ketamine the catatonic, and hallucinogens the visual and delusions of grandeur. Again all incomplete but all useful.
I don't view this article as putting a negative spin on ketamine. It doesn't say that ketamine causes schizophrenia and there is no evidence that it does. There are many other articles developing schizophrenia type models with ketamine.
Interesting to me anyway it seems different drugs can mimic different types of schizophrenia. Amphetamines can mimic the kind of paranoid delusions, ketamine the catatonic, and hallucinogens the visual and delusions of grandeur. Again all incomplete but all useful.
