Treatment Of Depression Research Paper

Scientific Investigation
Paul Devlin
The Treatment of Depression
Current Methods and Groundbreaking New Treatments

Introduction
Depression is a very real and serious mental health condition which statistics show will affect 1 in 5 people, either directly or through a friend or relative suffering from the condition. Several neuroscience and genetic investigations clearly demonstrate that depression is a disorder of the brain, one which modern imaging techniques can reveal. Where in the past, the general consensus was that depression was a condition directly related to environment, new neural imaging technologies can show that physical changes are present in the brain of a depressed person and that by studying certain areas of the brain
It is most often insufflated producing strong visual and out of body experiences. It acts very rapidly producing very strong and profound effects on the user (depending on dosage). Users often report what is referred to as ‘the k-hole’ where on taking large doses of the drug, one’s mind becomes ‘dissociated’ from the body resulting in very powerful and personal hallucinations, not just visual however like other hallucinogens such as LSD. When in a ‘k-hole’ the user can be unaware of their own existence, often forgetting where they are, what they are, and experiencing complete mental detachment from the
It appears though that this problem has been recognised by the scientific community and that successful research is being carried out which has already shown extremely ground breaking results. The ketamine study carried out at Yale University by Dr Durman and his team is particularly exciting in terms of the discoveries which have already been made. The processes which have been identified, associated with ketamine, appear to address some of the big issues faced with common antidepressants. Firstly producing positive results in a high number of treatment resistant patients over a very short time period, highlights just how little the circuitry of the brain is currently understood in terms of depression. Also by specifically identifying that not only its interactions with glutamate and the mTOR process, but the fact that it takes place in the pre frontal cortex as opposed to the hippocampus are vital to the antidepressant effects observed in those treated with ketamine. As is commonly found with studies producing such dramatic and potentially profound results, those involving ketamine have exposed many unanswered questions but have also revealed a great stride forward in the field of drug development and treatment of