Is a Root-Cause Approach for Mental Health Just “Cognitive Decline Light”?
The same subsets of root cause for both brain related issues?
When Dr. Kristine Burke started developing TruNeura, she identified the six major subsets of root cause for cognitive decline. Dr. Burke’s successes in reversing or halting early dementia stem from her ability to address these six areas in a precise, data-driven way. They are:
Metabolic Inflammation
Nutrients & Mitochondria
Hormonal & Trophic Factors
Cardiovascular & Vascular Health
Biome & Biotoxins
Chemicals & Toxins
Over the years, we’ve seen time and again that lifestyle interventions—such as improved diet, exercise, stress management, and social support—can certainly make a difference in cognitive decline. The work of Dean Ornish and others shows how lifestyle change can produce meaningful short- and medium-term improvements in overall brain function. However, to get consistent, lasting results for individuals confronting Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, you have to deal with root causes. That means you can’t ignore these six areas; you must identify which of them are most likely fueling a person’s decline, then craft a plan to target each factor at its source.
The Six Drivers at Work in Mental Health
Back in September, I attended the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health (IMMH) conference for the first time. It was an incredible gathering of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and integrative practitioners from across the spectrum. I listened to influential speakers like Dr. Chris Palmer, who’s spearheading research on “metabolic psychiatry”—particularly the ketogenic diet as a potential intervention for refractory mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
What struck me was that the same six categories Dr. Burke uses for cognitive decline keep reappearing in discussion of mental health:
Metabolic Inflammation: Low-grade, chronic inflammation is implicated not only in Alzheimer’s but in depressive disorders, anxiety, and even psychosis.
Nutrients & Mitochondria: Deficiencies in essential vitamins, minerals, or fatty acids can hamper the brain’s energy production, fueling everything from brain fog to severe mood swings.
Hormonal & Trophic Factors: Thyroid imbalances or suboptimal estrogen/testosterone levels can manifest as depression or generalized anxiety, while inadequate growth factors (like BDNF) affect neuroplasticity.
Cardiovascular & Vascular Health: If blood flow to the brain is compromised, neuron function can suffer, leading to cognitive deficits or mood dysregulation.
Biome & Biotoxins: Chronic infections, mold, or poor gut health can elevate inflammatory cytokines and disrupt neurotransmitter balance, exacerbating mental health issues.
Chemicals & Toxins: Exposure to heavy metals, pesticides, or industrial chemicals can alter brain chemistry in subtle yet profound ways.
Indeed, severe mental health disorders may not always be as intricate to unwind as advanced dementia—but they can still be multidimensional and tough to treat. And for a large subset of patients—particularly those with treatment-resistant depression or recurrent anxiety—uncovering root causes is the piece that’s too often missing.
How TruNeura Fits In
At TruNeura, we initially focused on building a platform to automatically score and categorize the root causes of cognitive decline—precisely to help doctors see where their patients might be facing metabolic inflammation vs. mold toxicity vs. hormonal disruptions. A big impetus for that was Dr. Burke’s success in reversing dementia by systematically tracking which factors were out of balance and personalizing protocols accordingly.
However, as soon as we stepped back and looked at the mental health epidemic—rising rates of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and beyond—we realized that the same platform could illuminate hidden issues driving a patient’s mental or emotional symptoms. Instead of sifting through 20 different lab panels or guesswork, a clinician can use TruNeura to input relevant labs, patient history, and lifestyle data. Then our system helps spotlight which subsets of root causes are the most likely culprits.
Whether you’re engaging in a deep dive for someone suffering from mild cognitive impairment or supporting a new client with long-standing anxiety, the software remains malleable. You might only tap into 50 markers or so for a mental-health-focused workup rather than the full 450 a severe dementia case might require. Still, you’ll see the same categories—nutrient status, toxins, metabolic markers, gut health—pop to the top if they’re out of range or chronically inflamed.
Cognitive vs. Mental Health: Same Brain, Different Nuances
Of course, mental health challenges vary widely in presentation and severity, just like the trajectory of dementia can differ among patients. A 35-year-old with postpartum depression likely has different core drivers than a 75-year-old with rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s. Yet the underlying principle—uncover root causes, address them methodically—remains constant.
Short-Term Wins: Some mental health concerns respond quickly to lifestyle tweaks like daily exercise, a better diet, or targeted supplements (e.g., magnesium for anxiety).
Deeper Issues: Other cases involve multiple complex factors that require methodical detective work, including advanced labs for toxins, infections, or hormones. In that sense, it’s reminiscent of unraveling a dementia case, though perhaps on a slightly simpler scale for certain individuals.
A Cohesive Brain Health Framework
Ultimately, we can look at mental health and cognitive decline as points on a brain health continuum. Yes, they have distinct symptomatic profiles and occasionally different root causes, but the overlap is significant. The same vascular damage that sets the stage for dementia can also impair mood regulation. The same nutrient deficiency that leaves you struggling with brain fog or low energy might tilt you toward anxiety or depression.
We built TruNeura to accommodate this broad perspective. A robust, truly root cause–oriented tool must be able to handle both extremes:
The deep-dive, comprehensive approach for advanced dementia, where all 450 initial markers (or however many you choose to run) are in play.
The selective approach for a more straightforward mental health case, in which maybe a fraction of those markers highlight metabolic or inflammatory culprits.
Conclusion
So, is a root-cause approach for mental health just “cognitive decline light”? In one sense, yes—you might not be addressing the same severity of deficits as in Alzheimer’s, but the underlying principle of examining how the patient’s physiology could be fueling psychological struggles is the same. In another sense, mental health challenges can be every bit as complex and life-altering, requiring an equally thorough lens to uncover hidden triggers.
The big takeaway? It’s all the same brain. Whether you’re targeting dementia or depression, anxiety or mild cognitive impairment, you stand the best chance of success by systematically assessing the six key categories:
Metabolic Inflammation
Nutrients & Mitochondria
Hormonal & Trophic Factors
Cardiovascular & Vascular Health
Biome & Biotoxins
Chemicals & Toxins
Only by clarifying which of these factors are driving the patient’s dysfunction can you craft a truly effective plan. And thanks to platforms like TruNeura, you don’t have to do that detective work entirely by yourself. The future of both mental health and cognitive care hinges on such integrative, data-rich solutions—making “cognitive decline light” and full-blown Alzheimer’s look more like two points on the same journey toward better, more personalized brain health.
Thank you for this. Excellent analysis that makes perfect sense.