Mg. Toro et al., Chaos theories and therapeutic commonalities among depression, Parkinson'sdisease, and cardiac arrhythmias, COMP PSYCHI, 40(3), 1999, pp. 238-244
This report reviews and compares all therapies that have shown efficacy in
depression and Parkinson's disease, although some are not in current use an
d others are at the experimental stage, They include pharmacological modifi
cation of neurotransmitter pathways, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), sleep
deprivation, psychosurgery, electrical stimulation through cerebral electr
odes, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Stemming from a pathophysiolog
ical model that stresses the brain as an open, complex, and nonlinear syste
m, all therapies have been attributed a common mechanism of action. This re
port suggests that the therapeutic isomorphism is related to their ability
to help the CNS deactivate cortical-subcortical circuits that are dysfuncti
onally coupled. These circuits are self-organized among neurons of their in
formational subsystem (rapid conduction) and modulating subsystem (slow con
duction), Finally, this report extends the analysis and comparison of these
therapies to some cardiac arrhythmias. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders
Company.