By David Stephen
What is known about how the brain works or does not that should determine if mental illness should be added to medical assistance in dying in Canada?
Simply, assuming an individual makes a request for assisted dying because of a serious mental illness, what does the individual and loved ones know about how the brain works that should make the decision seem parallel with the best possible information given all scenarios?
This is the question that must be answered by the Government of Canada, before determining if assisted dying should be added to MAID, or if mental illness might make life feel like a burden.
Electrochemical psychiatry
There are several known information, established from empirically-supported neuroscience that tells a lot about how the brain works.
For example, there are some areas of the brain with very specialized functions, such that once there is a problem with that part or if it is lost, the ability for that function gets lost. There are some functions that are distributed, such that if the area is lost, the function can move elsewhere or can be [say] relearned.
Now, for some of the cases where a mental illness is severe, what is the certainty that there is no hope, given medical advances, access to care, cost, or just knowledge of the neuroscience?
In the brain, the most important cells to functions are nerve cells — or neurons. They are linked with every possible function of the brain for human life and experiences. However, neurons do not function alone, they do so with electrical and chemical signals.
Now, in modeling how the brain organizes information, the candidates are electrical and chemical signals, simply because neurons are cells and they have limited anatomical variances to be able to model all functions, distinctively.
So, to understand how the human mind works, it is the electrical and chemical signals, conceptually. The same can be said about every mental disorder. This implies that instead of the descriptions and labels in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision [DSM-5-TR], electrical and chemical signals can be used to explain the brain thoroughly.
Therefore, mental health, conceptually, is defined as the zone — within certain averages, per moment of the collection of all the electrical and chemical signals, with their interactions and attributes, in sets, in clusters of neurons, across the central and peripheral nervous systems — with a functional balance of mind and experiences, for social and occupational objectives.
A mental illness is an aberration from this signal’s alignment.
Emotions are sets of signals, with a certain angular displacement that bend [so much] they are sometimes much more tangled than memory sets.
Feelings are similar to emotions in angular configuration architecture, just that they have sequences or paths into bodily functions. Simply, like pain, the interpretation in the brain is a momentary further bend in a direction, just like cold, heat or thirst, but once it is mitigated or solved by an input, there is a reversal, conceptually. This bodily base makes it easier to solve feelings, sometimes, than emotions.
These are places to start for electrochemical psychiatry.
The objective is to at least have a theoretical leap. Then, develop a display, which can then be used to make some determinations.
In the central and peripheral nervous systems, neurons are often in clusters: nuclei and ganglia respectively.
It is theorized that electrical and chemical signals are in sets [or loops] in those clusters.
It is in those sets that they configure functions specifically. It is where they also distribute summaries of what they configured to other sets, interacting along the way such that without an appropriate fit, there is no interpretation [accurate or not], so they have to keep going until they terminate at the sets [they can] fit.
Electrical and chemical signals have to interact in sets, to determine functions, conceptually.
Interactions are principally the strikes of electrical signals on chemical signals, in sets.
There are factors, attributes or features that determine the extents to which they interact. They include prioritization, pre-prioritization, splits, old sequences, new sequences, principal spot, arrays, thick sets, thin sets, intensity and so on.
It is the chemical signals that hold the configuration for functions, while electrical signals strike them in interactions to obtain the complete configuration, for a specific measure of a function.
Attributes of functions are obtained by the states of the signals at the time of the interactions. So, attention — for example — is an attribute. It is the same what it means when a set of signals is prioritized. Just one set is prioritized, others are pre-prioritized.
Although there are fast and numerous interchanges between the prioritized and pre-prioritized. Prioritized and pre-prioritized sets are arrayed, with some that are likely to become prioritized, ahead of others. The prioritized set is the first in the array, while several pre-prioritized follow.
Prioritization is obtained in a set by the intensity of electrical signals on chemical signals. It is also obtained by the largest volume of chemical signals in one set. Or, the highest volume of a determining chemical signal, say, glutamate.
Other attributes include self [or subjectivity] obtained by volume variation of chemical signals, from side-to-side. Or, the end-to-end interactions of electrical signals with chemical signals. There is also intent and others.
Another feature is a space of constant diameter in some sets of chemical signals. It is theorized that sets of signals with these spaces make it possible to have free will.
There are what is called thin sets and thick sets of chemical signals. Thick sets hold whatever is common between two or more sets, while thin sets hold what is unique.
There are also sequences, old and new, defining what path sets of quantities take to acquire properties. Old sequences define procedures and order of things. It is what makes it easy to know when something is the way it should be or not. New sequences define adventure. Old sequences may sometimes lead to cliché or boredom.
There is also the principal position, measure or spot. It is also called bulk. This is a stickiness property, for a set, that allows it to linger, dominate [or return more to prioritization], and then attract electrical signals that are not supposed to relay there.
It may also be a thickening quality, where depending on what is inbound the set swells. It may sometimes feed out to other sets [like heaviness, anxiety, sadness and so on], making them hold the mind down, resulting in unwanted experiences.
This principal spot explains major depression, trauma, anxiety and so forth.
Depression is theorized to be a set of signals for nothingness moving to the principal spot, allowing it to lead the array of distribution and dominate against anything else that is pre-prioritized or prioritized.
Simply, depression is a state where a set of signals that is supposed to be a neutral set, moves into the principal spot, then gives out distributions of the summaries of its configurations, which [then] becomes how some other sets that should not normally get the distributions do.
In delusion, there could be a few problems, first with splits, next with sequences, which should have used an old one instead making a new one, and that the volume-variation for subjectivity, may be deficient creating a detachment from the self [or some dignity].
In hallucination, seeing something and taking it for something else may follow a similar process, where some of the features and interactions of sets of signals are defective.
There is a problem with splits that should acquire other properties in pre-prioritization, or to acquire them quickly in prioritization and move on.
Hallucination could be the result of a problem of distribution of electrical signals across sets, for interactions to differentiate reality. There could also be lower than regular volumes for some sets of chemical signals, affecting their ability to be thick sets or thin sets.
An individual with several [non-collected] thin sets — which is what memories from birth often are, before they organize into thick sets — may have issues with delusions.
There can also be a problem of too much or too few intensity of electrical signals in some sets, or a lack of splits of electrical signals [with some going ahead of others, such that if the input matches distributions continue, and if not, the incoming electrical signals go to the right set of chemical signals, correcting the error. This explains the terms predictive coding, processing and prediction error.]
Addiction is the movement of craving to the principal spot, which dominates arrays [another attribute, for rankings of priority sets]. Simply, craving is at the head of arrays, which distributes its configurations to other sets, making it appear like there is a general need for ‘the thing’.
This is also expanded by splits of electrical signals, which after the last intake, there is an early split to the set of signals for pleasure, satisfaction or notice of taking it, but this does not get the full interaction, thereby, signaling that something is not complete, so another intake becomes desired.
Simply, after the last intake, there is a split of electrical signals, to the same destination, but without the full summary that it had been taken and then without the full interaction at the destination, which then distributes to an experience of absence, which may then move the urge for the craving.
Addiction can also be a result of depression, where there is just a continuous intake, to try to drive away the emptiness from the principal spot.
This is expanded in the postulation in Conceptual Biomarkers and Theoretical Biological Factors for Psychiatric and Intelligence Nosology.
Mental Health Euthanasia
How does the mind work? What is the parameter of any mental disorder or the extent of it, by electrical and chemical signals that can be used to better understand approach to care and hopes for it.
The possibility for Canada, toward the decision will lay with electrochemical psychiatry.
This means that knowing more about how the brain works could be useful in making better decisions about assumptions around mental illnesses, no matter how serious.
There is a recent [June 26, 2026] report on National Post, ‘Direction is clear’ on MAID, Carney says, after report recommends against expansion, stating that, “Prime Minister Mark Carney says the decision on whether to expand eligibility for assisted dying is not a “personal matter” for him, but believes the direction for the government to take is “clear.””
“Members of Parliament have until July 11 to offer their opinions on the report’s recommendation.”
“The House of Commons is set to return in late September, meaning any proposed changes to the law would not be able to be tabled in legislation until the fall.”
“Expanding Canada’s assisted-dying regime to include those seeking it only on the basis of mental health has been twice delayed, with the latest timeline set for the expansion to take effect being March 2027.”
There is a recent [June 15, 2026] analysis in The New York Times, How Quebec, in a Decade, Came to Lead the World in Assisted Dying, stating that, “The rapid increase — 8 percent of all deaths in Quebec are now from assisted dying, compared with 5 percent in Canada overall — has raised questions in and outside of the province.”
“Researchers point to a host of reasons. In the province, it has been framed from the start as a way to die in dignity, avoiding terms like “euthanasia” or “assisted suicide” used in some European countries.”
“In Quebec, only doctors or nurse practitioners can administer an assisted death, while elsewhere only the patient is allowed to perform the final act.”
“In jurisdictions where doctors write a prescription but patients have to take it themselves, the rates are much lower,” said Isabelle Marcoux, a University of Ottawa professor and a leader of a network researching assisted dying in Quebec.”
“Assisted dying is covered fully by Quebec’s public health insurance. Doctors are allowed to initiate conversations with patients about assisted dying as an end-of-life option, whereas patients must bring it up first in places like Australia and some American states.”