A Study conducted by University College London (UCL) and the University of Cambridge suggests that individuals who suffer from psychological illnesses have brains that function differently. In the field of study of psychogenic illnesses, this research, recently published in the specialist journal Brain, represents a breakthrough significant for their understanding and treatment.
Psychology understands by psychogenic illness any physical symptom, pathological process or emotional state of psychic origin rather than physical. We are therefore talking about diseases that have their origin in the mind. Psychogenic pathology presents traits similar to neuronal, cerebral or muscular damage or even similarities to genetic diseases of the nervous system, all of which are organic diseases. In this sense, this is where the main difference lies: psychogenic diseases have no apparent physical cause, which makes them more difficult to perceive, diagnose and treat.
What motivates the development of a mental disorder? The answer is ambiguous, says neuroscientist Dr James Rowe from the University of Cambridge. “The processes that lead to these disorders are poorly understood, complex and highly variable. As a result, treatments are also complex, often lengthy and in many cases only produce a slight improvement. In order to improve the treatment of these disorders, it is important to understand the underlying mechanism.” Based on this idea, the research team set out to find an understanding of this mechanism through a broad analysis.
Rigor in research
The field study involved examining individuals with psychogenic or organic dystonia and healthy individuals with no symptoms of the disease. Both types of dystonia, organic and psychogenic, had caused painful muscle contractions and leg disability in the affected individuals. The research team performed PET scans of the brain of all groups of volunteers at the UCD (a synonym for dystonia) – both sick and healthy – to measure blood flow and brain activity. This analysis was completed by scanning the brains of the participants while they were performing three different positions: resting their feet, moving one foot, and holding one leg in a dystonic position. At the same time, the electrical activity of the leg muscles was measured to determine which muscle was most involved during the activity.
After the study, the researchers determined that the group of patients with organic dystonia showed a genetic mutation that had been the cause of the pathogenic condition. In contrast, the psychogenic patients did have symptoms of dystonia but did not show any physical explanation for the disease, even after extensive examinations.
Results
Ultimately, after further investigation, the team discovered and concluded that the brain function of individuals with the psychogenic illness is not that of a healthy individual. The researchers discovered that the brain function of individuals with the psychogenic illness was not normal. The changes were, however, very different in the brains of individuals with the organic (genetic) version of the illness.
In addition, the researchers found that a part of the brain that was thought to be a good indicator of psychogenic illness turned out to be unreliable: abnormal activity in the prefrontal cortex appears to be the hallmark of psychogenic illness. In this study, the scientists also showed that this alteration is not exclusive to psychogenic illness, as the activity was also present in patients with the genetic cause of dystonia when they tried to move their foot.