Drugs and the Brain: Pills to Make you Normal

Pills to make us happy; pills to make us sleep; pills to make us calm; pills to make us normal: drugs are an integral part of day-to-day life. But what is normality, and what might people lose by relying on drugs?

Pills to make us happy; pills to make us sleep; pills to make us calm; pills to make us normal: drugs are an integral part of day-to-day life. But what is normality, and what might people lose by relying on drugs?

This debate asks whether medicinal drugs can be quick fix treatments for social problems. Drugs can be used to change the brain’s chemistry to make people more ‘normal’, but they also alter a persons’ personality – perhaps changing them forever.

Ritalin can help school ADHD children’s performance at school, but, how does it affect their personality? Do these people really have a “disorder” or are we just trying to make them easier to deal with? , Treatments for depression will also be examined, as the panel and audience discuss whether anti-depressant drugs affect creativity.

A panel of three experts will each present a short synopsis of their argument:
· Professor Peter Kinderman, Professor of Clinical Psychology will talk about how modern medication can affect our mental state, as well as the how society labels and deals with people with mental disorders.
· Dr SC Stanford, Reader in Experimental Psychopharmacology, will talk more about how the drugs individuals take for mental disorders affect the brain from a chemical and neurological point of view.

“Popping pills is a daily routine for many people in the UK,” said Dr Tom Ziessen, Events Programmer, Dana Centre.

“But most don’t think about the wider debate: how are these pills changing them? Are there more effective drugs out there which drug companies are too afraid to exploit? We hope this debate will raise exciting new issues and make people contemplate the bigger picture.”

From ecstasy for highs to aspirin for headaches, there seems to be no going back to a life without the little white pills.

Members of the Dana Centre’s audience research panel have chosen the topics of these events. These events are part of a series supported by the Wellcome Trust.

Register to tell a friend about this lecture.

Comments

If you would like to comment about this lecture, please register here.

©2003-2006 Niminim Limited. Created by

Any ad revenue is entirely reinvested into the Lecture List's operating fund