Treatment Online

Regarding the NYT Brain Imaging Article
> 10/19/2005 3:51:01 PM

"The field of psychiatry has suffered during the technologicalrevolution from an inability to give biological definition to itsvarious syndromes. Treatment s for the most part have beendiscovered through serendipity and applied through empirical trial anderror. At times, the field of psychiatry has appeared to fightprogress to preserve the image of analytic purity. Nevertheless,the past 25 years has seen the emergence of psychiatry into a viable,healthy field of medicine. Perhaps, as in all transition, thependulum of biological research has swung too far. This couldonly be explained by recognizing that psychiatry in the early 20thcentury devoted its exclusive attention to refining analytictechnique. There can be no justification for eitherextreme. Psychiatry must ultimately incorporate itself intomodern technological revolution but should not do this at the expenseor disregard of its analytic tools."
I wrote those words a little over 18 years ago. At the time MRIand PET technologies were already providing doctors with amazing newinsights into the workings of the human mind. But as withanything in science, the next great discovery is always more difficultthan the one that came before it. While there may yet belimitations to the information from MRI and PET readouts, there is nodoubt that given time and the proper amount of funding a breakthroughmay be right around the corner. However, as I said back in 1986,we must never lose sight of the analytic tools which still provide usour best opportunity for proper treatment.

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