Biological psychiatry
hideBiological psychiatry, or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. It is interdisciplinary in its approach and draws on sciences such as neuroscience, psychopharmacology, biochemistry, genetics and physiology to investigate the biological bases of behaviour and psychopathology. Biopsychiatry is that branch/speciality of medicine,which deals with the study of biological function of the nervous system in mental disorders.
While there is some overlap between biological psychiatry and neurology, the latter generally focuses on disorders where gross or visible pathology of the nervous system is apparent, such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy, encephalitis, neuritis, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. There is some overlap with neuropsychiatry, which typically deals with behavioural disturbance in the context of apparent brain disorder.
Biological psychiatry and other approaches to mental illness are not mutually exclusive, but may simply attempt to deal with the phenomena at different levels of explanation. Because of the focus on the biological function of the nervous system, however, biological psychiatry has been particularly important in developing and prescribing drug-based treatments for mental disorders.
In practice, however, psychiatrists may advocate both medication and psychological therapies when treating mental illness. The therapy is more likely to be conducted by clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, occupational therapists or other mental health workers who are more specialised and trained in non-drug approaches.
The history of the field extends back to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, but the term biological psychiatry was first used in peer-reviewed scientific literature in 1953. The term is more commonly used in the US than in some other countries such as the UK. The field, however, is not without its critics and the phrase "biological psychiatry" is sometimes used by those critics as a term of disparagement.
For more information about Biological psychiatry, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with biological psychiatry
Possible link studied between childhood abuse and early cellular aging
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Children who suffer physical or emotional abuse may be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults, according to new research from Butler Hospital and Brown University.
Common plastics chemicals linked to ADHD symptoms
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Phthalates are important components of many consumer products, including toys, cleaning materials, plastics, and personal care items. Studies to date on phthalates have been inconsistent, with some linking exposure to these ...
Are teenagers wired differently than adults?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Parents have long suspected that the brains of their teenagers function differently than those of adults. With the advent of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, we have begun to appreciate how the brain continues to develop ...
The narrow line between love and jealousy
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 12, 2009 |
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A new study carried out at the University of Haifa has found that the hormone oxytocin, the "love hormone", which affects behaviors such as trust, empathy and generosity, also affects opposite behaviors, such as jealousy ...
Connection between depression and osteoporosis detailed
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Research carried out among thousands of people has shown a clear connection between depression and a loss of bone mass, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.
New therapy gives hope for very severe depression
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Thanks to a new method there is a reason for hope for patients with very severe depression. German physicians at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne have treated ten patients with deep brain stimulation. ...
Regulating emotion after experiencing a sexual assault
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 22, 2009 |
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After exposure to extreme life stresses, what distinguishes the individuals who do and do not develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? A new study, published in the October 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry, sugges ...
Getting on 'the GABA receptor shuttle' to treat anxiety disorders
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 22, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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There are increasingly precise molecular insights into ways that stress exposure leads to fear and through which fear extinction resolves these fear states. Extinction is generally regarded as new inhibitory learning, but ...
Childhood risk factors for developing substance dependence
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 21, 2009 |
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There is ample evidence for the genetic influence of alcohol dependence, and ongoing studies are actively looking for specific genes that may confer this increased susceptibility. In addition, while it is well-known that ...
Maternal smoking may increase newborns' discomfort
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 21, 2009 |
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A new research study being published in the October 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry suggests that maternal smoking may increase the level of distress of newborns.
New brain stimulation treatment may offer hope for those with treatment resistant depression
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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A new neurosurgical procedure may prove helpful for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Bilateral epidural prefrontal cortical stimulation (EpCS) was found generally safe and provided significant improvement of ...
Ketamine reduces suicidality in depressed patients
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 10, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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Drug treatment options for depression can take weeks for the beneficial effects to emerge, which is clearly inadequate for those at immediate risk of suicide. However, intravenous (IV) ketamine, a drug previously used as ...
Oxytocin: Love potion #1?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 29, 2009 |
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Relationships are difficult and most of us probably think at some point that communicating positively with our partner when discussing stressful issues, like home finances, is an impossible task. What if there was a safe ...
Genetic Risk for Anxiety Does Not Have to be Destiny
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 29, 2009 |
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A growing body of basic animal research and studies of abused and neglected children provide a strong basis of support for the hypothesis that individuals with particular genotypes are at greater risk for depression, anxiety ...
Throwing the micro switch: MicroRNA may link smoking risk gene to neurobiology of addiction
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 23, 2009 |
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During the past several years, significant progress has been made in identifying susceptibility genes for nicotine dependence through genetic linkage and association analyses. Although a large number of genes have been associated ...
