Curing mental disorders will have to include rewiring of neuronal organization. It will have to entail an algorithm-dependent pre-designed intervention to optimize the organization of neuronal ensembles. In order to do that brain plasticity should be induced to offer the therapeutic conditions of a ‘developing brain.’ In that case a plasticity level such as that of a child must be induced.
This can be achieved by medications, of which the SSRI’s are currently available. We know that these drugs are synaptogenetic and neurogenetic. Future medications will target intracellular factors such a BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factors) allowing for more effective and controllable synaptogenesis.
However this will not suffice, even if the brain becomes more plastic and manageable to change, if change is not induced it will have no reason to amend. Synergistically to the induction of plasticity, also induction of change will have to take place. This can be achieved with the proper manipulation of the environment.
Two categories of such manipulation can be already conceptualized: 1) direct manipulation by activating (or inhibiting) neuronal ensembles directly using the various technologies of brain stimulation (i.e., DBS TMS deep brain stimulation with electrodes and trans-cranial magnetic stimulations with coils, respectively) - 2) Indirect experience-dependent-plasticity by controlling the experience of the treated subject, this can also be aided by powerful controllers of experience such as virtual reality (VR) computer technology.
A detailed description of this future treatment of mental disorders is presented in a narrative manner in the book titled ‘Optimizers 2050’ where a psychiatry resident cures his patients optimizing their brain organizations using these synergetic interventions of plasticity-induction together with additional indirect inductions that restore brain optimization and cure mental disorders.
The diagnosis of mental disorders in the form of brain disturbances and the algorithm of intervention to cure them is explained with the aide of clinical case-reports in the recently published manuscript titled ‘Neuroanalysis book’
Recently researchers led by Jose Maya Vetencourt and Lamberto Maffei at the Institute for Neuroscience, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy, collaborating with Eero Castrén's group at the University of Helsinki, reported that antidepressants do, indeed, induce changes in neuronal connections and that these neural rearrangements are functionally significant. This was achieved in treating amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” with Prozac together with visual stimulation, the study supports a synergistic interplay of the drugs and environmental factors, which might include behavioral or psychotherapy in the case of mood disorders.
This is only one of the many studies (specially studies that show synaptogentic effects of enriched environment) out there to give hope for effective treatments of mental disorders.