A recent study discussed on The Conversation speaks about how biochemical substances involved in various mental health disorders affect our brain functions, and many of those biomarkers are ordered in blood tests. This study establishes a correlation between different biomarkers and mental health disorders. However, it was not able to establish whether or not these biomarkers cause mental health disorders or if mental health disorders cause the changes in the biomarkers. Further research is required in order to establish such a causal relationship, but this could lead to improved treatment and prevention options for people suffering from mental health disorders. The discussed paper can be found in the journal Science.
Psychiatrists have also adopted the strategy of stress testing. For example, the doctor would prescribe the patient a drug which increases dopamine levels in the brain, which would induce a psychotic episode upon a patient with schizophrenia, confirming the diagnosis.
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