From PTSD to depression, medical
treatment of mental illness has come a long way. The journey from asylums and
"hysteria" to modern SSRIs and therapy has been one of the most
eventful journeys in the history of medicine. Still, science continues to push
the boundaries on treatment. Thanks to the tremendous advancement in technology, today there are numerous
tried-and-true methods to treat patients that won't be perfected for
decades. Technology, including virtual reality, smart brain scans, and
magnetic fields have revolutionized the way of treating mental illness.
The fact remains the same that
technology can't solve every issue under the sun. Though scientists are working
on a range of bio-tech that possibly shields present and future generation,
confronting mental illness. Yet, a lot of the discussion on technology and
mental illness revolves around mobile apps that can be personalized to an
extent. Still won't be able to replace one-on-one therapy and conventional
methods of treatment. Beyond smartphones, there are other things on the tech
landscape - from algorithms to magnetic fields that perhaps the future of mental
health treatment.
Let`s get deep into it;
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has something more
than science fiction and video games, said Alan Oviatt. Stratospheric ally, the technology has improved and its usage in today`s
immersive environments has had psychologists involved specifically for helping
people with anxiety disorders, phobias, and PTSD. VR advanced therapy a lot
while helping patients in cutting the costs of treatment. With VR, a therapist
doesn't need to accompany a client on a trip to a crowded shopping center.
However, a lot of the potential
benefits depend on combining high-quality VR named as "transnational
intervention," or the process by which medical and scientific
discoveries are "translated" into real-world applications. In other
words, while virtual reality is full of potential, the way it's implemented in
therapy could have drastic effects on how effective it is.
Intelligent Brain Scans
With the improvement of modern
psychiatric medicine, people with mental health problems get an
advantage of determining what works for them and which has the fewest side
effects. According to Alan Herbert
Oviatt, antidepressants can be considered as the best example, incorporating
numerous types - from SSRIs to tricycles. People with depression should try
different types on several dosages before settling on one that creates
stability. In order to refine this process, it has been a subject of a lot of
research.
Magnetic Fields
Alan Herbert Oviatt said, “Brain stimulation
treatments for mental health benefit have been the focus of
science for a while”. Scientists discovered earlier that stimulating parts of
the brain directly using electrodes likely to aid with treatment-resistant
depression, for instance. But what about minimal invasive that could do the
same thing? New technology from the University of Buffalo might be the answer.
The researchers introduced a
technique called magneto-thermal stimulation that enables "activate"
very specific parts of the brain. The process initiates via injecting magnetic nano particles into specific parts of the brains of live mice. Then subjected
them to an alternating magnetic field. In mice, the researchers were able to
stimulate areas to make the animals run and turn around. The scientific press
has called it the "remote-controlled mice" phenomenon, but that's not
all this could be helpful for. It's a big leap forward for people who hope to
one day be able to cure psychosis, schizophrenia and other severe mental
illnesses by manipulating specific neurons in the brain, without damaging other
parts.
From the miniature to the
elaborate, the above technologies shared by Alan Herbert Oviatt might be the
next vanguard of mental health treatment. Don't be too amazed, if in 20 years
your therapist appears via virtual reality to prescribe you medicine based on
your EEG results.
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