“Helinger: Mathematicians won the war. Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes... and built the A-bomb. Mathematicians... like you. The stated goal of the Soviets is global Communism. In medicine or economics, in technology or space, battle lines are being drawn. To triumph, we need results. Publishable, applicable results. Now who among you will be the next Morse? The next Einstein? Who among you will be the vanguard of democracy, freedom, and discovery? Today, we bequeath America's future into your able hands. Welcome to Princeton, gentlemen.”
A Beautiful Mind: Schizophrenia
“Dr. Rosen: Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be?”
INTRODUCTION:
Over 200,000 people in the United States alone are diagnosed with schizophrenia each year. This disorder affects a person's ability to think, feel, and behave clearly. Schizophrenia is characterized by thoughts or experiences that seem out of touch with reality, disorganized speech or behavior, and decreased participation in daily activities. Experiencing difficulties in memory and concentration are common. The exact cause of schizophrenia is yet to be known, but a very specific combination of genetics, environment, and altered brain chemistry and structure may play a role.
It was just this spring in April 2017 that Neuro-phsychopharmacology published a study with very promising results for a new class of compounds for treatment purposes for schizophrenia. This discovery could give patients fewer side effects, greater selectivity, and enhanced effectiveness.
These compounds inhibit a previously un-targeted nerve-cell receptor located within the brain.
"Nash: Can you see him?
Student: Yeah.
"Nash: Okay. I am always suspicious of new
people. Now that I know you're real, who are you, and what can I do for you?"
"Nash: I've gotten used to ignoring them and I think, as a result, they've kind of given up on me. I think that's what it's like with all our dreams and our nightmares, Martin, we've got to keep feeding them for them to stay alive."
[Hansen is concerned about John still having hallucinations]
"Nash: They are my past. Everyone is haunted by their past."
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric (brain and behavioral) disorder that involves psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, accompanied with regressive behavior. The disorder affecting how one thinks, feels and acts. People with schizophrenia can have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy, expressing and managing normal emotions and making decisions. [B]
Common symptoms of schizophrenia include behavioral (social isolation, disorganized behavior, aggression, agitation, compulsive behavior, excitability, hostility, repetitive movements, self-harm, or lack of restraint), cognitive (thought disorder, delusion, amnesia, belief that an ordinary event has special and personal meaning, belief that thoughts aren't one's own, disorientation, memory loss, mental confusion, or slowness in activity), mood (anger, anxiety, apathy, feeling detached from self, general discontent, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, elevated mood, or inappropriate emotional response), psychological (hallucination, paranoia, hearing voices, depression, fear, persecutory delusion, or religious delusion), speech (circumstantial speech, incoherent speech, rapid and frenzied speaking, or speech disorder), and in some cases it is also common to experience a false belief of superiority, fatigue, impaired motor coordination, or lack of emotional response. [B]
“Nash: You once said that God must be a painter because he gave us so many
colors.
Alicia: I didn't think you were listening...
Nash: I was listening.”
(After a medical diagnosis) A combination of medications, psychotherapy, and coordinated special care services is the lifelong treatment for schizophrenia. Cognitive, behavioral, and family therapy, in addition to rehabilitation, support groups, psycho education, and group psychotherapy are just some the treatment options. Medications that are usually prescribed by a medical professional are anti-psychotic and anti-tremor drugs.
People with schizophrenia suffer from psychosis, a primary symptom that is usually treated with antipsychotic medications. Patients also usually suffer from so-called negative or cognitive symptoms, such as deficits in social situations, diminished motivation, and problems recognizing social cues. Antipsychotics typically have little impact on these symptoms. Antipsychotics also frequently cause undesirable side effects.
Existing therapies target two kinds of docking sites, called dopamine and serotonin receptors, on neurons in the brain. These receptors are used to relay signals between neurons, creating a network of connections that is the basis of all cognition, including thought, perception, learning, and memory.
“Alicia: How big is the universe?
Nash: Infinite.
Alicia: How do you know?
Nash: I know because all the data indicates it's infinite.
Alicia: But it hasn't been proven yet.
Nash: No.
Alicia: You haven't seen it.
Nash: No.
Alicia: How do you know for sure?
Nash: I don't, I just believe it.
Alicia: It's the same with love I guess.”
RESEARCH:
Researchers have
tried to target the 5-HT2C receptor in the past, but they were unable to find
drugs that would interact with it specifically. Drugs that are not specific to
their target cause side effects. Dr. Wetsel and colleagues identified multiple
compounds were highly selective for the 5-HT2C receptor.
However, in a more recent work published and led by William Wetsel, PHD., Duke University and team of researchers developed series of compounds designed to inhibit a previously untargeted receptor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. This variant serotonin receptor is called 5-HT2C. [A]
However, in a more recent work published and led by William Wetsel, PHD., Duke University and team of researchers developed series of compounds designed to inhibit a previously untargeted receptor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. This variant serotonin receptor is called 5-HT2C. [A]
They tested the
effectiveness of these compounds using mouse pharmacological and genetic models
of schizophrenia. They found that the new class of drugs decreased hyperactivity that is associated with acute psychosis. This was able to restore
“prepulse inhibition” in the mice. The latter test is related to the ability of
animals – including mice and people – to reduce their “startle response” to a
stronger stimulus when it is preceded by a weaker (“prepulse”) signal. This
ability is often impaired in people with schizophrenia. [A]
"Nash: [to Thomas King] I
still see things that are not here. I just choose not to acknowledge them. Like
a diet of the mind, I just choose not to indulge certain appetites; like my
appetite for patterns; perhaps my appetite to imagine and to dream."
“Alicia: I need to believe, that
something extraordinary is possible.”
RESULTS:
Compared to the numerous existing anti-psychotic drugs, inhibitors of the 5-HT2C receptor
also provided relief in tests intended to probe social behavior and certain
types of memory functions. Unfortunately, these new compounds lowered motivation of the mice. Motor side-effects (involuntary movements of the tongue, lips,
tongue, trunk, and/or extremities) ascribed to other anti-psychotic medications
were very low.
CONCLUSION:
More research is needed before these drugs can be safely used on human patients, so there is still a long way to go. But, researchers are optimistic and strongly believe in the observations and results discovered. These preliminary results have given scientists a rational for further testing of 5-HT2C receptor inhibitors as a potential new treatment
for schizophrenia.
“Nash: [Making an acceptance
speech in front of the Nobel prize audience during the ceremony] I've
always believed in numbers, in equations, in logic and reason. But after a
lifetime of such pursuits: I ask What truly is logic? Who decides reason? My
quest has taken me to the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional, and back.
I have made the most important discovery of my career - the most important
discovery of my life. It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any
logic or reasons can be found. I am only here tonight because of you
Nash:
[looking at and speaking to Alicia]
Nash: You are the only reason I am. You are all
my reasons. Thank you.”
[applause from audience]
TITLE CARDS: [Last title cards]
Nash's theories have influenced global trade negotiations national labor
relations, and even breakthroughs in evolutionary biology.
John and Alicia Nash live in Princeton, New
Jersey. John keeps regular office hours in the Mathematics Department. He still
walks to campus every day.
“Nash: Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.”
Links:
*Please note! These images are not mine. They were found on various tumblr, pinterest, google image sites! If any are yours please let me know so that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images have no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks so much & enjoy~
Quotes found on: imdb.com/beautifulmind
Images found on: filmscreencaps.com/ beautifulmind
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