A Brief History of Clinical Neuroscience

There has been quackery in neuroscience just as there has been quackery in cancer research and all branches of medicine, unfortunately.

Brain Anatomy

Early investigations of brain anatomy concentrated largely on the normal brain. In order to understand brain abnormalities, it is good to understand the normal brain. Greater progress was made by a microscopic examination of the brain. Neurons are important cells in the brain. However, they are not the only brain cells. Glia are also important.

MacLean

Paul MacLean studied the brain. He divided it into three main areas, one of which he called the "reptilian brain". The reptilian brain was the most primitive part of the brain, i.e., the brainstem. He formed a theory of emotions.

Solomon Snyder

I would like to have presented an image of Solomon Snyder, but he is still alive. I have a public domain image of him, but one can't publish a picture of a person without his permission. I don't know how newspapers do this. Snyder is an expert on neurotransmitters.

The Tryptophan Theory

This is a brilliant theory, and I believe that it is true. It seems that diseases with altered tryptophan metabolism tend to have psychiatric symptoms. One example is acute intermittent porphyria. Altered tryptophan metabolism has been found in this disease, which has psychiatric symtoms. It seems that an enzyme which metabolizes tryptophan is inadequate, and tryptophan accumulates in the brain. Abdominal pain can occur.

Tryptophan is in fish, meat, soybeans, and other high protein foods. My own theory is that a low tryptophan diet may benefit mental disease. Avoid cottage cheese, brown rice, meat, peanuts, soy products, etc.

Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine has included the study of various nutrients and natural body substances including vitamins, amino acids, etc. There may be vitamins that haven't been discovered yet. We may know what they are, but we don't realize that we need them. Orthomolecular medicine favors "therapeutic nutrition based upon biochemical individuality" in the words of the brilliant website www.orthomolecular.org.

"Orthomolecular treatment does not lend itself to rapid drug-like control of symptoms, but patients get well to a degree not seen by tranquilizer therapists who believe orthomolecular therapists are prone to exaggeration. Those who've seen the results are astonished."---Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.

"Orthomolecular psychiatry is the achievement and preservation of mental health by varying the concentrations in the human body of substances that are normally present, such as the vitamins- It is part of a broader subject, orthomolecular medicine, an important put because the functioning of the brain is probably more sensitively dependent on its molecular composition and structure than is the functioning of other organs (1) . After having worked for a decade on the hereditary hemolytic anemias, I decided in 1954 to work on the molecular basis of mental disease. I read the papers and books dealing with megavitamin therapy of schizophrenia by Hoffer and Osmond (2,4) as well as the reports on studies of vitamins in relation to mental disease by Cleckley and Sydenstricker (5,6) and others. In the course of time I formulated a general theory of the dependence of function on molecular structure of the brain and other parts of the body and coined the adjective "orthomolecular" to describe it (1)."
Linus Pauling (1995) from the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine

"Furthermore, it has been demonstrated by Scientists that people afflicted with cancer and heart disease have an alarmingly low supply of Coenzyme Q10.^5-10 Thus, it is very important to supplement Coenzyme Q10. In an article published by the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, it has been stated that supplementation of Coenzyme Q10 strengthens the heart, even without exercise; normalizes blood pressure; elevates energy levels, and contributes to life extension. Other studies have indicated that supplementation of Coenzyme Q10 can replenish depleted Coenzyme Q10 stores, increase stamina and energy, and heighten the effectiveness of the immune system."

Debasis Bagchi, Ph.D., FACN

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 12, 1st Quarter 1997

I have included the quote on coenzyme Q10 because the statin drugs, used to lower choleterol, deplete this nutrient, unfortunately. The substance is good for the heart, which is the very organ that the statins are trying to protect!

"Coenzyme Q10 occurs in lesser quantities in spinach, grains, beans and specific oils. With aging, the body loses its ability to assimilate and synthesize sufficient Coenzyme Q10 from foods." Debasis Bagchi (from the same article)

Conclusions

More research is needed. The tryptophan theory is controversial yet merits further study. I have included a bibliography that presents research on a variety of theories. I believe that the approach of orthomolecular medicine is a valid one.

Bibliography

1. www.associatedcontent.com/article/529911/why_orthomolecular_medicine.html .

2. www.associatedcontent.com/article/515061/what_is_orthomolecular_psychiatry.html .

3. www.associatedcontent.com/article/499417/psychiatric_drug_side_effects.html .

4. www.associatedcontent.com/article/485563/the_autointoxication_theory_of_schizophrenia.html .

5. www.associatedcontent.com/article/470898/an_introduction_to_neuropathology.html .