6 ms·

I wonder how many mental illnesses are the result of imbalances in foreign organic matter/microbes/fungi/dietary issues and not issues fundamental to the brain

by n0us 11y ago

I wonder how many mental illnesses are the result of imbalances in foreign organic matter/microbes/fungi/dietary issues and not issues fundamental to the brain itself?

kawera 11y ago
An old but interesting article and discussion related to your question: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/1969/12/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/8873/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/1969/12/how-your-c... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3573694 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3573694 Articles somehow related to the subject: http://www.nature.com/news/the-tantalizing-links-between-gut-microbes-and-the-brain-1.18557 http://www.nature.com/news/the-tantalizing-links-between-gut... http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/do-gut-bacteria-rule-our-minds http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/do-gut-bacteria-rule-... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/ http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/21/4595712/gut-feelings-the-future-of-psychiatry-may-be-inside-your-stomach http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/21/4595712/gut-feelings-the-f... http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-t...
- n0us 11y ago
  Thanks for all of the sources. I remember listening to a talk on NPR about the same subject a while back in my car but I couldn't find a link to it.
  - kawera 11y ago
    Maybe this: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/07/02/156142214/a-parasite-carried-by-cats-could-hurt-humans-sanity http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/07/02/15614221...
sitkack 11y ago
Exactly, we have lots of instances of other parts of the body becoming infected but brain sicknesses I think go untreated probably because they are hard to detect and the brain is so resilient.
- philipov 11y ago
  I think it's a combination of it being difficult/expensive to get inside the brain, limiting such exploration to only the most severe cases, and also a latent bias in western culture to buy into Mind-Body Duality. The idea that the Mind is separate from the Body is still prevalent, and has an insidious effect on many people's judgement: even people who are trained otherwise.
tim333 11y ago
Schizophrenia is an interesting one showing a very high correlation with antibodies for a retrovirus called HERV-W which became part of the DNA of our pre-human ancestors about 60 million years ago and which has been passed down ever since. http://discovermagazine.com/2010/jun/03-the-insanity-virus http://discovermagazine.com/2010/jun/03-the-insanity-virus

by n0us 11y ago

I wonder how many mental illnesses are the result of imbalances in foreign organic matter/microbes/fungi/dietary issues and not issues fundamental to the brain itself?

kawera 11y ago

An old but interesting article and discussion related to your question: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/1969/12/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/8873/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/1969/12/how-your-c... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3573694 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3573694 Articles somehow related to the subject: http://www.nature.com/news/the-tantalizing-links-between-gut-microbes-and-the-brain-1.18557 http://www.nature.com/news/the-tantalizing-links-between-gut... http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/do-gut-bacteria-rule-our-minds http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/do-gut-bacteria-rule-... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/ http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/21/4595712/gut-feelings-the-future-of-psychiatry-may-be-inside-your-stomach http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/21/4595712/gut-feelings-the-f... http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-t...

n0us 11y ago
Thanks for all of the sources. I remember listening to a talk on NPR about the same subject a while back in my car but I couldn't find a link to it.
- kawera 11y ago
  Maybe this: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/07/02/156142214/a-parasite-carried-by-cats-could-hurt-humans-sanity http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/07/02/15614221...

sitkack 11y ago

Exactly, we have lots of instances of other parts of the body becoming infected but brain sicknesses I think go untreated probably because they are hard to detect and the brain is so resilient.

philipov 11y ago
I think it's a combination of it being difficult/expensive to get inside the brain, limiting such exploration to only the most severe cases, and also a latent bias in western culture to buy into Mind-Body Duality. The idea that the Mind is separate from the Body is still prevalent, and has an insidious effect on many people's judgement: even people who are trained otherwise.

tim333 11y ago

Schizophrenia is an interesting one showing a very high correlation with antibodies for a retrovirus called HERV-W which became part of the DNA of our pre-human ancestors about 60 million years ago and which has been passed down ever since. http://discovermagazine.com/2010/jun/03-the-insanity-virus http://discovermagazine.com/2010/jun/03-the-insanity-virus