Hyman S E
National Institutes of Mental Health, Rockville, MD 20857, USA.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Jan;57(1):88-9. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.57.1.88.
Psychiatry enters the new millennium poised to answer many of its central questions. Given the complexity of the human brain and its interactions with our world, these questions are among the most difficult ever addressed by human science. How is the human brain built? How does it change over the life span? What are the precise genetic and environmental risk factors for mental illnesses? What are the pathophysiologic processes that produce the symptoms and disabilities? How do our treatments, including psychotherapy, work? What objective markers can we discover to monitor the progression of the pathogenic processes and the effects of treatment? How will we discover preventive measures and cures that will be effective in diverse populations and settings? Parallel to the pursuit of its public health agenda, psychiatry will grow closer to neuroscience, behavioral science, and neurology. In so doing, those who practice these disciplines will be better positioned to ask meaningful questions about the relationship among mind, brain, and behavior, and to finally overcome the pervasive Cartesianism that continues to incubate stigma and ignorance about mental illness.
精神病学迈入新千年，有望解答诸多核心问题。鉴于人类大脑的复杂性及其与我们所处世界的相互作用，这些问题是人类科学所面临的最具挑战性的问题之一。人类大脑是如何构建的？它在整个生命周期中如何变化？精神疾病的确切遗传和环境风险因素有哪些？产生症状和残疾的病理生理过程是什么？包括心理治疗在内，我们的治疗方法是如何起作用的？我们能发现哪些客观指标来监测致病过程的进展和治疗效果？我们将如何发现对不同人群和环境都有效的预防措施和治愈方法？在追求其公共卫生议程的同时，精神病学将与神经科学、行为科学和神经病学联系更为紧密。这样一来，从事这些学科的人将更有能力提出关于心智、大脑和行为之间关系的有意义的问题，并最终克服普遍存在的笛卡尔主义，这种主义持续滋生对精神疾病的污名化和无知。
