Translation: The University of Toledo Journal of Medical Sciences

Editorial for NSCI 1000 Issue

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Cover Art

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SettingsRadha Shah, Undergraduate student, Fall 2024 Neuropsychiatric Patient (NSCI 1000) student, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, 3000 Arlington Avenue, The University of Toledo, Toledo OH 43615.

Cover Art

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Puvi Venkataratnam, Undergraduate student, Fall 2024 Neuropsychiatric Patient (NSCI 1000) student, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, 3000 Arlington Avenue, The University of Toledo, Toledo OH 43615.

How can we define normal? And how would you describe mental illness to someone who knew nothing about the topic?

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Essay Prompt: An alien ship drops out of the sky from another planet. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), they have been watching Youtube videos of the Kardashians and other reality shows while traveling to our planet, and they are very confused about what is a “normal” human being. So far in class we have interviewed three different patients with three different mental illnesses. If we follow through with this logic, then persons without a “diagnosis” are apparently “normal.” How would you explain mental illness to an alien who has no biases or knowledge of what it is like to have a mental illness? How would you decide what is normal and what is abnormal? Who should decide what is normal? In the passage above, leading psychiatrists were the ones deciding normal versus abnormal for the world. Please write an essay considering one or more of the questions detailed here in this prompt (or ask and answer your own question!), drawing on the passage above, class interviews, optional reading, and/or your own experiences.

Should clinicians be allowed to accept gifts/honoraria/consulting fees from anyone?

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Should clinicians be allowed to accept gifts/honoraria/consulting fees from anyone?

What would be lost if physicians could not work with such companies? What would be gained? Please write an essay focused on this dilemma. Be sure to consider the patient we saw in class with a DBS device who was doing very well, as well as the patient with opiate use disorder who had suffered considerably (keep in mind big pharma made the opiate epidemic worse with Oxytocin).

Nature Versus Nurture

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The grand question of Nature (genes and DNA) versus Nurture (environment, parenting) has been debated for a long time. In the passage above, it shows that psychiatrists used to think that schizophrenia was caused by “bad” mothering. If generalized, one might conclude that any or all mental disorders may be caused by “nurture.” In class, so far, you have seen three different patients with three different disorders (depression, schizophrenia, and addiction). Choose either “nature” or “nurture” as your stance and write an essay persuading the reader that one is more important than the other in terms of causing mental illness. Using examples from the passage above, class interviews, optional reading, and/or your own experiences would be much appreciated!

Glass Half Full

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Essay Prompt: The passage to the right describes stigma as a major problem in the mental health field. Do you agree or disagree with the assertion that calling a person with alcohol use disorder a “alcoholic” is detrimental for their care and engagement with treatment systems? Please clearly state whether you agree or disagree and provide a justification for your answer. Please limit your response to the space provided below.

Understanding Nurture’s Influence on the Development of Mental Disorders

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Placebo Effect:

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The graph to the right describes a study of 80 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Patients either got no treatment or were given a placebo pill. When given the pill they were told “Placebo pills are made of an inert substance, like sugar pills, and have been shown in clinical studies to produce significant improvement in IBS symptoms through mind-body selfhealing processes.” The graph clearly shows that patients getting the pill did better than those without. How is this possible? In the space below, 1) speculate how the mind-body connection could lead to such an improvement in symptoms, and 2) discuss how this process might be at play in the pharmacological treatment of brain diseases?

Balancing Reality and Spirituality

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Essay Prompt: In his publication “Principles of Inner Work: Psychological and Spiritual,” John Welwood coined the term “spiritual bypass.” This concept is described in the accompanying passage. It can refer to using faith or religion to avoid the reality of difficult or intense emotions. Did any of the patients that were interviewed display this psychological defense? Can you think of an example from the media or your personal experiences where this process was at play? In the space below, please 1) briefly describe one example of spiritual bypass from one of these sources, and 2) discuss how spiritual bypass may be harmful or helpful depending on the situation.

Do you agree or disagree with the assertion that calling a person with alcohol use disorder an “alcoholic” is detrimental for their care and engagement with treatment systems?

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Essay Prompt: The passage to the right describes stigma as a major problem in the mental health field. Do you agree or disagree with the assertion that calling a person with alcohol use disorder an “alcoholic” is detrimental for their care and engagement with treatment systems? Please clearly state whether you agree or disagree and provide a justification for your answer. Please limit your response to the space provided below.

Dedication Statement to Daniella Gamboa Pabon

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Not Applicable

The Pervasion of Sexism in Psychiatry

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Essay Prompt: In the year 2023, the historical impact of bias and sexism on the perception of mental illness is still present in our culture in the United States and world-wide. The passages above may be viewed through that lens, in that Freud and other early psychiatrists tended to blame everything on the mother/woman. Using examples from the passage above, class interviews, optional reading, and/or your own experiences, please write an essay focused on some type of bias (gender, racial, economic, etc) in mental health. Ideas for areas of interest to discuss may be beliefs, perceptions, access to treatment, or consequences of such bias.