Biopsychiatry is the upcoming branch of medicine which deals with the study of biological function of the nervous system in mental disorders and diseases like epilepsy, cerebral palsy, encephalitis, neuritis, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Some theories explain that Biological psychiatry serves to maintain the emotional and relational system of things in our society. It is combination of different sciences such as neuroscience, psychopharmacology, biochemistry, genetics and physiology.

During these five decades, research on mental illness has its own conflicting ideas as follows:
Etiology (causation)
1. The causes of mental illness are mainly biological.
Classification
2. Types of mental illness can be comprehensibly classified (DMS-IV).
Treatment
3. Mental illness can be treated effectively and safely with psychoactive drugs.

Biological psychiatry does not differ much from other ancient and common approaches to mental illness; they simply deal with the subject with a different level of understanding and explanation. Since biological function of the nervous system is concentrated in biological psychiatry, the main area of focus is in developing and prescribing drug-based treatments for mental disorders.
However, psychiatrists usually practice and advise both medication and psychological therapies when treating mental illness. The therapy is undertaken by experienced and professional clinical psychotherapists, occupational therapists, or other mental health workers who are more specialized and trained in non-drug approaches.

Biopsychiatry gains its knowledge of various mental disorders through imaging techniques, psychopharmacology, and neuroimmunochemistry. Research conducted in this area reveals that there is an interconnection between the neurotransmitters of the nervous system and that of the neurotransmitter fingerprint of psychiatric drugs such as clozapine.
Currents research is conducted with all possible biological bases of behavior such as biochemical, genetic, physiological, neurological and anatomical. And on the other hand it is also been applied to clinical levels in the form of drugs, diet, exercise, distressing methods, avoiding environmental pollutants, transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy.

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENTS

Psychiatrists usually go through the whole history of the patient since various other biological factors can affect the brain and cause mental disorders. Such as malfunctioning of the thyroid gland may mimic a major depressive episode, or hypoglycemia which is low blood sugar may imitate psychosis.

Non-biological treatments such as cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy are often used in combination with biological therapies for dealing mental illness. Biopsychosocial models of mental illness are widely in use currently. Since it cannot be denied that psychological and social factors play a large role in mental disorders, even with cases having organic or biological basis such as schizophrenia.

The technology of neuroimaging is been widely used in the biological psychiatric Diagnosis. There are two structural techniques in neuroimaging - computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - and three functional techniques - single photon emission tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The PET system shows early brain development in the infants and also the primitive areas of the brain such as brain stem and thalamus, which shows high activity in the infants. Slowly the cortical cells in the brain are developed. Between the ages of four to 10, the cortex is almost twice as active in the child as in the adult. In cases of child abuse the growth of the brain is hindered along with the risk of physical changes. A child who has suffered abuse has to deal with consequences of depression, eating disorders, and drug and alcohol problems. These are termed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The combination of PET and fMRI more remarkable examples of neuroimaging since the two have made it feasible to map accurately in vitro identifiable cortical fields, or networks.

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