Could pH be the reason for Mental Health Disorders

            The brain is a complex organ that we are still trying to figure out, even small changes in its chemistry can lead to harmful effects to the individual. The article “Are Some Psychiatric Disorders a pH Problem?” mentions that even the minor changes in pH levels could lead to panic attacks, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental health disorders. There has always been the question of whether or not a changes in pH could cause mental disorders. In the past, researchers performed various studies and found that people who had panic attacks had decreased levels of pH, resulting in an increased level of lactate in their brain. However,  people still wondered if those changes in pH could be contributed to other factors “such as antipsychotic drug use or a person's physical condition just before death.” The psychiatrist William Regenold explained that if a person is dying slowly the brain will take the oxygen independent pathways and that will cause the decrease of the pH, thereby increasing the lactic acid levels in the brain.

            Neurologist Tsuyoshi Miyakawa and his colleagues decided to conduct a study where they had 400 brains postmortem from patients that either had bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. The researchers came to find out that the levels of pH were lower on individuals with these mental health disorders than with healthy individuals. However, neurologist John Wemmie says that even though the study of Miyakawa was interesting, he believes that in live brain the increased activity of these individuals would cause the elevated levels of lactate.

            There seems to be many hypotheses out there about the causes of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, is not just schizophrenia or bipolar disorder that are caused by an imbalance of hormones or neurotransmitters in our brain. I believe that most mental health disorders could be related to chemical changes. For example, people with depression or anxiety have decrease levels of serotonin or norepinephrine which explains their behavior and their lack of interest in many things. Dopamine is another neurotransmitter that in high levels, has been linked to schizophrenia.

            I thought this article was interesting because it could explain what is going on in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. This way professionals will be able to understand them better and come up with better forms of therapies to help these individuals. I believed that mental disorders are stigmatized by the general population. Doing studies like this one might help people understand what is going on in the brain of a person with a mental disorder. This way these individuals are more likely to seek professional help.

Kwon, D. (2017, August 28). Are Some Psychiatric Disorders a pH Problem? Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-some-psychiatric-disorders-a-ph-problem/