Prof. Tarhan: "Diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder have become easier"

Stating that measuring brain functions directs psychiatric treatment, Prof. Tarhan said that "Our brain is a very magnificent organ. It is responsible for everything we do, think and feel. In psychiatric disorders, the first physician usually makes the diagnosis and medications are started. If the disease does not get better within 6 months in the first step, it is necessary to move to the second stage. In this case, it is necessary to be able to make measurements in the brain."

Prof. Tarhan stated that "Magnetic stimulation treatments work very quickly in OCD and depression. It was revealed as a result of brain imaging. This is a personalized treatment. People should not be distracted by stigmatization, labeling and ineffective treatments."

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan evaluated the topic of brain mapping in the treatment of psychiatric diseases.

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan pointed to electrical and chemical neuroimaging, which is one of the brain imaging methods, and said that there is also imaging of oxygen and glucose exchange in the brain, and these are functional and functional imaging.

Structural state of the brain

Prof. Tarhan stated that "And then there are the anatomical imaging. Computed Tomography shows only the structural condition of the brain in the form of mapping the brain like MRI." and noted that these methods used by neurosurgeons show whether there is a tumor, mass, or volume-pressure changes.

Explaining that the method used by psychiatry is other functional brain imaging methods, Prof. Tarhan stated that these provide information about how the brain works in which situation, how it works in which disease, and how which part of the brain works. Explaining that what is meant as brain mapping is the imaging of the functional work of the brain, which is generally called functional imaging, Prof. Tarhan said that "The oldest of these, that is EEG, measures the flow of electrical signals in the brain."

"Not every active child is diagnosed with hyperactivity and unnecessary medication is given"

Stating that qualitative analysis of the signals in the brain was carried out in the 1990s, Prof. Tarhan explained that the signals in the brain were examined, the secretion and vibrations of the waves in the brain were measured and a normal database was created, which was compared with the data of the patients and the areas with deviations from normal were given in the form of mapping.

Stating that this method is currently known as QEEG and is used routinely, Prof. Tarhan also said that a special device has been developed for attention deficit and hyperactivity in the USA, so that every active child is diagnosed with hyperactivity, and unnecessary medication is not given.

Stating that patients are not satisfied when there is no concrete feedback, Prof. Tarhan expressed that "For example, you call someone diabetic and when you measure and show their blood sugar, they cannot object. We also take brain imaging. With QEEG, we look at the person's brain after receiving the brain's bioelectrical wave. There are areas of organisms in the brain, we show it and we say, 'Look, there is a war in your brain.' If there is a beta wave in the brain, we say that there is a war, or if there is a slow secretion, we define it as 'the brain is tired, the level of serotonin and dopamine in the brain has decreased' because the electrical transmission in the brain simultaneously shows the chemical message in the brain and other functions in the brain. The networked working map of the brain, the nephron map, comes out there."

"After we do the treatment, we obtain brain mapping"

Explaining that these methods help in diagnosing a person with depression or panic disorder, Prof. Tarhan said that "We look at it and say, 'This region of your brain is hypersensitive, and you are giving a catastrophic reaction from a small thought and fear. When we say 'this is not something you can control, it is involuntary', the person is relieved and their compliance with the treatment increases. Then, there are treatments such as magnetic stimulation therapy to be done sometimes depending on the situation. After doing the treatment, we take the brain mapping. We measure whether there is a change, what percentage has changed, whether it has improved."

Stating that a cardiologist examines the cardiovascular system of the person and diagnoses it, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "The target organ of our mental and nervous structure is the brain. In other words, after the 2000s, how our brain works began to be understood. Even at NASA, there are close to 2,000 postdoctoral students working on the brain, working on neuroscience. The brain seems to be the new space of science. The connections between brain activity and mental activities, such as many things in the brain, what is consciousness, have become more understandable. As such, we have seen that most of the diseases that we call mental illness but cannot understand the cause of have a biochemical counterpart in the brain."

Turkish scientist brought it to the literature...

In 2013, the famous FDA of the USA approved the use of Brain mapping in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Turkish Psychiatrist Prof. Sermin Kesebir also discovered the relationship between slow and fast wave disruption and emotion regulation disorder in Brain Mapping in Bipolar Disorder in 2022 and published it in the well-known Journal of Frontiers in Psychiatry and included it in the literature. Now, we will be able to make a diagnosis and better observe the effect of medication.

"The brain and the intestine communicate with each other"

Noting that inflammation in the gallbladder can change with stress in internal diseases, Prof. Tarhan continued his remarks as follows: "We call it bowel disease. These can change with stress. If so, what is the relationship between the gut and the brain? However, the brain and the gut are talking. The brain and gut communicate with each other, and they transfer information to each other. They do it not only by electrical means, but also by chemical means. It sends a message 'Accelerate, react, contract', it contracts, and from there a message goes to the brain through the Vagus nerve. The brain says 'the danger has passed, you can relax', if the person relaxes their brain, their stomach and intestines are all relaxed. The brain works like an orchestra conductor, if we do not know our brain, we cannot treat the disease. Therefore, the organ of study of the psychiatrist, the professor of psychology, should be the brain."

"Those who believe in the effect of the drug recover 40 percent faster"

Stating that if the patient believes in the effect of the drug he takes, he recovers 40 percent faster, Prof. Tarhan said that "If he does not believe, for example, if a person stands in the middle of the room saying, 'I am dizzy', there is a 40 percent chance that they start to feel dizzy and shaken in the experiments. How a person defines his brain, the nervous system takes a position accordingly, perceives and establishes connections accordingly. Therefore, if we manage our brains well, we can manage ourselves. He who manages his brain manages himself. This is called neuro-leadership. Even for motherhood and fatherhood, self-consciousness, self-knowledge, and self-management are required. This is also true in psychiatric diseases, the person should know their illness correctly, believe in the drug they use, otherwise they say that the drug they take 'does not cure'. However, drugs are pharmacological weapons, and these are chemical weapons. If these are used appropriately and on time, they serve the purpose. If it is used incorrectly, it causes harm.”

"It should not be called antidepressant"

Referring to the issue of antidepressants, Prof. Tarhan stated that "It should not be called antidepressant. Not drugs to be dispensed like aspirin. A lady accidentally took an overdose of antidepressants. Suddenly, her emotions are overwhelmed, and she falls in love with the doorman. They brought us a lady, but she could not control it and since excessive serotonin is secreted in her brain. Suddenly she was under the influence of the one who gave her attention."

"Our brain is a very magnificent organ"

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said: "Our brain is a very magnificent organ. It is responsible for everything we do, think, and feel. In psychiatric disorders, the first physician usually makes the diagnosis and medications are started. If the disease does not improve within 6 months in the first step, it is necessary to move to the second stage. In this case, it is necessary to be able to make measurements in the brain. In case of resistance to treatment, when it does not improve with medication, the possibility of chronicity of the patient arises. The treatment in the first line is not enough, it is necessary to give new drugs or change drugs again. In such cases, measuring brain function in that person guides the treatment."

“It is necessary to determine the needs of the person and treat them."

Stating that there are many brain imaging methods, Tarhan said that "Qualitative EEG is the most practical and easiest to reach in mapping the brain. In some cases, measurements are made in the brain with functional MRI. Certain tasks are given in the MRI device. According to this, it is examined which part of the brain is working. There are also pet studies that show the consumption of oxygen and glucose in the brain, and where it uses oxygen and glucose better. MRI provides information about oxygen consumption in the brain, oxygen, and carbon dioxide balance. Even infrared optical scans are performed. This is about to be launched. Today, psychiatric illnesses are unfortunately increasing. It is increasing globally, and in such cases, the solution methods are also increasing, and it is now necessary to determine and treat the needs of the person."

"It is the dose that makes the drug a medicine, when you give it too much, it becomes poison"

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan noted that diseases are different in person A and different in person B and expressed that "Therefore, in such cases, it is necessary not to apply a treatment without examination. According to the individual needs of the person, the right medicine, the right treatment, the right time are required. Choosing the right drug is different, it is very important to choose the right drug like this, if you give the drug to be given intravenously orally, it will not do any good. It is important what dose you give, because it is the dose that makes the drug a drug, and when you give it too much, it becomes poison."

Reminding that the world is experiencing a revolution in neuroscience, Prof. Tarhan said that "There is a clinical equivalent to this. Many treatments have become easier, we can better see the results of the work we do, and the genetic analysis of the person is done. The genetics of the drug are checked, you give some people the drug in the dose for an elephant, it does not work, and you give some micrograms of medicine, it has a great effect. The reason for this is the metabolic rate in the liver. In some people, the liver cannot use the drug, and this causes side effects. There is a drug sensitivity panel, we look there, and we choose the drug according to which drug the person is sensitive to."

"Magnetic stimulation treatments work very quickly in OCD and depression"

Prof. Tarhan explained that dopamine enzyme activity and serotonin enzyme activity in the brain are examined, if the dopamine level is high, that is, if dopamine enzyme activation is fast, the level increases, in such cases, it is necessary to give dopamine-related drugs to the person and serotonin-related drugs to others, and stated the following remarks:

"Now, genetics, we look at the enzymes that the body uses to metabolize and give drugs according to that pathway. This pharmacological drug is referred to as genetics. The other method is magnetic stimulation treatment is performed by looking at the mapping of brain imaging, which area in the brain is impaired. For example, which area in the brain works fast and which area works slowly with neuronavigation, and provocative magnetic stimulation treatment is performed. For example, the person has OCD or is a cleaning patient, they constantly wash their hands. We make them imagine the cleaning rituals with the device, and while they are repeating it, we look at the brain, that part of the brain is activated, in a way it flares up. At that moment, we give a magnetic warning. There are voltage-dependent ion channels in that area, voltage-dependent ion channels become desensitized, magnetic therapy stimulates them, and drugs start to work from there. It is getting better fast."

"People should not be distracted by stigmatization, labeling and ineffective treatments"

Tarhan concluded his remarks as follows: "Magnetic stimulation treatments for OCD and depression work very quickly. These were revealed as a result of brain imaging. This is a personalized treatment. Those who do not suffer from this disease do not know, and it is very difficult. They are often not understood, and with good intentions, people apply to the folk remedy in various primitive ways. Whereas medicine has advanced, we can measure the link between mental health and brain mapping. People should no longer be distracted by stigmatization, labeling and ineffective treatments."

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)