Examine the relationship between biological factors and the brain across the life span - Pubrica
                     EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP  
BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL FACTORS  
AND THE BRAIN ACROSS THE 
LIFE  SPAN, AS ILLUSTRATED BY  
NEURODEVELOPMENTAL AND  
NEURODEGENERATIVE 
DISORDERS
An Academic presentation by
Dr. Nancy Agens, Head, Technical Operations, 
Pubrica  Group: www.pubrica.com
Email: [email protected]
Today's Discussion
Outline In Brief
Brain – A Complex Organ
Biological Factors and Mental 
Illness  Schizophrenia and Bipolar 
Disorder  Research in 
Neuropsychiatry  Conclusion
In Brief
Neuropsychiatry has always been a mystery area with researchers, all over the 
 world, trying to understand affective, behavioural characteristics and mental  
illnesses. Research is often limited by the complex structure and function of the  
brain, difficulty in imaging techniques and access to direct tissue for  
pathophysiological studies. However, recent times have seen a impressive  
improvement in the understanding of these neuropsychiatric disorders, most of  
which can be explained by an interplay between genetic, environmental, and  
biological factors. Video abstract services convert the research in the form of an 
 audio-video format that is engaging, accessible, and increases the chances of  
getting accepted by the scientific publishing community.
Brain – 
A  The h uman brain is an extremely complex organ and  
Complex understanding its functioning has always been a mystery and 
 Organ  hence a f ield of research for the curious researcher.
Genetics and environment have both known to influence the  
outcome of the person; however, the extent to which each factor 
 affects the outcome is not completely understood.
The nature and nurture influence on the human brain is a mystery 
 and debates continue to understand conclusively the same.
Contd..
The brain is highly sensitive and receptive to b iological and environmental 
factors  especially in the prenatal and early childhood as the neural pathways are 
being  formed and these factors along with genetic makeup decide experiential 
learning  pathways that guide an individual throughout his or her life.
Biological  
Biological factors are internal factors and range from  
Factors  genetic to chemical, physical, physiological, nutritional, 
and  hormonal, and neurological, gender etc.
Mental  It is studied that about half of the mental illnesses would  
Illness have had their onset by 14 years of age and three quarters 
 by the time one is 24 years, and this then persists 
through  adulthood.
Neuropsychiatric illnesses are a major cause of disease 
 burden affecting productive adult life and is the most  
common cause of disease burden in the young.
Contd..
In spite of this, mental illnesses are neglected and underfunded area of  
research.
Several mental illnesses are linked to disturbances in the functioning of neural 
 circuits and imbalance in neurotransmitters.
By influencing the levels of neurotransmitters through medications,  
psychiatrists attempt to manage the symptoms of mental illnesses by 
 influencing the neural pathways.
Contd.
.
The following are known biological factors that are antecedent to the expression of
mental illnesses:-
1. G enetics - The fact that mental illnesses show hereditary pattern, prove that there is 
a  strong genetic component for the causation of these illnesses.
They are usually involving several genes that increase susceptibility to a mental  
disease that is triggered by environmental exposures.
Serotonin or 5-HT is an important neurotransmitter that affects mood.
Genetic polymorphisms in serotonin receptor (SERT), corticotrophin releasing  
hormone receptor (CRH-R) and brain-derived n eurotrophic factor (BDNF) 
increase  vulnerability to childhood depression when exposed to stressors.
Contd..
2. I nfections - An example is the paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder  
(PANDAS) caused by Streptococcal infection is linked to development of obsessive- 
 compulsive disorder (OCD) in children.
3. B rain injury and prenatal damage - Brain defects and injury are associated with  
development of mental disease, while prenatal asphyxiation and injury can result in 
 autism.
4. S ubstance abuse - long term substance abuse is associated with anxiety, 
depression,  and paranoia.
5. N utrition – malnutrition results in mental illness.
Schizophreni
a  and Bipolar Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychotic illness  
 Disorder that affects the young making them unable to lead a 
 normal life.
Today, we have convincing evidence to suggest that 
 Schizophrenia starts as a neurodevelopmental  
anomaly in the background of predisposing  
genetic features.
The condition worsens with the neurodegeneration
that occurs with age, making it a progressive illness.
Contd..
Similar evidences are available to suggest that bipolar disorder is also a 
 neurodevelopmental disorder triggering a genetic condition and 
worsened  by neurodegeneration that occurs with age.
Memory disturbances and prefrontal cortex damage associated with  
cognitive impairment and brain damage are noted in neurodegeneration as 
 well as schizophrenia / bipolar disorder.
Research in  
The increasing numbers of papers and articles that are 
Neuropsychiatr  in line for publication in neuropsychiatry is alarming  
y and often journals miss out relevant topics during their 
 process of screening.
To enable this, medical v ideo abstract services make 
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the  research.
M edical writing 
services are well-accepted in the  scientific 
community considering the time constraint  in 
publication business.
Contd..
Video creation service is another step in this direction to facilitate the process of 
 acceptance of research paper by the publishing journal.
A v ideo abstract for the research keeps the attention of the reader by audio-visual 
aids.  Complex areas involved in neuropsychiatry i.e. the brain anatomy, imaging,
electroencephalogram tracings, genetic alterations, etc, can be better visualised by 
  v ideo abstract creation using high-definition animation and imagery.
In short, v ideo creation service for research narrate the story of your research in 
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Conclusion Vast amount of research has enabled our understanding of  
the various biological factors involved in mood, behaviour,  
and mental illness manifestation and tremendous amount of  
research is still going on to identify more such factors and the 
 interplay between them.
This understanding will help pharmaceuticals to develop  
targeted therapy to improve outcome and minimize side  
effects, thereby improving the productivity and quality of life 
 of the young adults.
Video development services convert your research abstract 
 into an engaging abstract video that is accessible and easily 
 shared on websites and social media extending the visibility 
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