I will update this with the numerous studies
debunking the chemical imbalance theory, but for
now, here are a few well respected 'pro
biological model of mental illness" researchers
who even acknowledge the lack of any proof for
chemical imbalance.
Goodman, W., (2005) The New Scientist.
Dr. Wayne Goodman, Chairperson of the FDA,
acknowledged the chemical imbalance story is
a "useful metaphor", but
claims that he would never tell his
own patients that they were suffering from a
chemical imbalance. "I can't get myself to
say that."
JUNE, 2009, Journal of American Medical
Association also acknowledges depression has NOT
been found to be Genetically Caused...EVER.
Risch, N.,
Herrell, R., Lehner, T, et al, Interaction
Between the Serotonin Transporter Gene
(5HTTLPR), Stressful Life Events, and Risk of
Depression: A Meta-analysis, in JAMA, June 2009.
The one gene they have been highlighting all
over the news for the past several years, NOW, like all the others, AGAIN, was
not found to be causal for depression.
Scientists reporting in The Journal of the
American Medical Association say that
genetic variation of the serotonin transporter
gene, or 5-HTTLPR, DID NOT have any effect on
depression risk...."The analysis showed
a strong association between depression and
stressful life events across all the
studies, confirming earlier research." So
bad events and stress leads people to
depression, so glad they spend millions of
dollars looking rather than spending it on what
we know causes it.
The
Myth Depression is Biological Disease by atty.
Lawrence Stevens, J.D. is a great place to
start. Click here to read a really nice
summary of the research.
Kendler, K.
S. (2005). “A gene for …”: The nature of gene
actions in psychiatric disorders. American
Journal of Psychiatry, July, 162, 1243-1252.
Dr. Kendler one of the world's leading twin
psychiatric genetic investigators.
He admits, as critics have
maintained all along, that there are no
genes that directly cause psychiatric disorders:
"The strong,
clear, and direct causal relationship implied by
the concept of ‘a gene for …’ does not exist for
psychiatric disorders. Although we may wish it
to be true, we do not have and are not likely to
ever discover ‘genes for’ psychiatric illness."
F“Although the past two decades have produced a
great deal of progress in neurobiological
investigations, the field has thus far
failed to identify a single neurobiological
phenotypic marker or gene that is useful in
making a diagnosis of a major psychiatric
disorder or for predicting response to
psychopharmacological treatment." This
quote comes from Dr. Michael B. First, M.D.,
Director and Editor of the research agenda
for DSM-V. You can find it in the following
online document: Research Agenda for DSM-V:
Summary of the DSM-V Preplanning White
Papers published in May 2002, Source:
http://dsm5.org/whitepapers.cfm
Dr.
Steven Rose ("The Future of the Brain:
The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's
Neuroscience" published in 2005, Oxford
University Press), a basic
neuroscientist at Open University, UK,
reported a study of 5HT (serotonin)
levels in psychiatric patients compared
with psychiatric nursing staff showed NO
DIFFERENCES, but only the patients
reported feeling depressed.
From a nonreductionistic perspective,
there is no isomorphic relationship
between neurotransmitter levels and
phenotypic expression, e.g..,
depression, anxiety, psychosis, etc.
France C., Lysaker P, Robinson
R, The "Chemical Imbalance" Explanation for
Depression: Origins, Lay Endorsement, and
Clinical Implications, In Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol. 38,
No.4, 411-420.
This study discusses
how regularly in popular media a “chemical
imbalance” is depicted, but highlights were this
misleading theory came from and how widely it is
used by lay persons. They conclude with a
discussion of the clinical implications
regarding this misleading information and
propose a short script for educating patients
regarding the chemical imbalance theory.
“We have been lying to everyone
for 40 years concerning the
chemical imbalance model.”
Wirshing is a psychiatrist at a VA
hospital across the street from UCLA,
where Ty Colbert, PhD teaches. Ty
a friend of mine and heard Dr. Wirshing
state this to a group of 200 or so
psychiatrists and other MDs and not one
of them confronted this fact. Ty
then emailed Dr. Wirshing, as he
was so shocked he openly stated this, to
confirm he heard it correctly. Dr.
Wirshing confirmed via email he heard
correctly.
(Wirshing, personal communication 1999)
