Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Abstract

We are in a period of unparalleled scientific discovery and innovation. Humans continue to understand disease processes and design treatments and cures. During certain periods of medical history some invasive approaches to study and to treat neuropsychiatric disorders had a ?checkered? past. ?Psychosurgery? is an example of this having both benefitted patients and but also had ethical abuses. Surgery for neuropsychiatric disorders has re-emerged as a viable option for many refractory conditions that are not amenable to conventional treatments. Modern ?Psychosurgical? approaches utilize reversible electrical treatments as opposed to the ?lesion? (irreversible) approaches of the past. These new methodologies allow for modulating electrical signals to the nervous system to abate symptoms. Treatments like Deep Brain Stimulation, Cortical Stimulation, and Vagal Nerve Stimulation are examples of these techniques. There are also non-invasive techniques being employed by both ?medicalists? and surgeons alike. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation has emerged as method to both map and modify brain function. In the future both scientists and clinicians must be aware of the past to move forward ethically and with solid scientific footing. Delivering electrical and chemical signals to the nervous system will continue to evolve as treatment modalities.

Biography

Robert J. Buchanan completed his residencies at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Surgery/Neurosurgery. His fellowships include Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, in Epilepsy Surgery and Functional Neurosurgery; UCSD Department of Psychiatry and the National Institute of Health (NIH) Psychobiology and Psychopharmacology as well as The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Lab of Genetics. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and The Institute for Neuroscience at The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He has an Image Guided Transcranial Laboratory at UT where he studies Brain Function and is exploring treatments for epilepsy, psychiatric disease, and movement disorders. Buchanan is a Board Certified Diplomate of both the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.