I have to start this review with an embarrassing confession. I picked this one up at the library but it was only when I got to the description of William’s Syndrome on page 65 that I realized that I had read it before, and even now I am not sure how long ago that was. But there is enough intriguing information that I read to the finish again, and even so I would fail an exam on some of the neuroanatomical, neurotransmitter and genetic information.
Dr. Jordan Smoller is a Harvard psychiatrist and research scientist with broad-ranging knowledge about the brain/mind mechanisms behind both normal and abnormal human behaviour. His argument that there is no sharp demarcation between normal and abnormal seems intuitive, and belies the ever-expanding arbitrary criteria for mental illnesses. The false nature/nurture dichotomy is compellingly exploded by many examples of interaction between the two. This book is just modern enough to provide some examples from the exploding field of epigenetics i.e. the influence of (often random) environmental factors on the expression of various genes, leading to the intriguing suggestion that we may not only inherit some of our grandparents genes but also some of the environmental influences on their behaviour.
There is extensive discussion of many neural pathways involved in a variety of conditions ranging from autism to psychopathy to ‘reactive attachment disorder’ and PTSD. Most of these pathways and the various neurotransmitters involved will be less than memorable to most readers, including this one. Some of the evidence for differences in neuroanatomy and connections leading to specific psychological and psychiatric effects are convincing and backed by animal experiments; others are mere correlations that may not indicate causation. It is encouraging though, that treatments such as dopamine for autism, or propanol for PTSD, are being developed based on some theories that have been formulated from animal studies.
There is, as in most social sciences writing for the general public, some meaningless psychobabble that can be annoying and distracting. “Mothers create a sense of trust in their children by that kind of administration which in its quality combines sensitive care of the baby’s individual needs and a firm sense of trustworthiness within the trusted framework of their community’s lifestyle.”
In the Prologue, Dr. Smoller states emphatically that ‘it would be absurd to claim that we can explain or describe every mental phenomenon in material terms.’ Throughout the book he carefully avoids any suggestion that the mind exists only as a product of physical phenomenon, while simultaneously documenting more and more of those physical explanations for mental activities. This blind faith in Cartesian dualism is somewhat akin to the clerics who invoke a deity to explain the gaps in our knowledge- the ‘God Of The Gaps’, an ever diminishing role for a diety. And many serious scientists and respectable philosophers do assert that there is no such thing as a mind outside of the physical brain. But the author’s designated specialty of psychiatry depends on the belief that the mind is separate from the brain, even as modern imaging makes that distinction hazy. Will psychiatry some day become a subspecialty of neurology, such as movement disorders are now?
Not a must-read, unless you are a neuroscientist, a mental health worker or a worker in early childhood development.
I have to start this review with an embarrassing confession. I picked this one up at the library but it was only when I got to the description of William’s Syndrome on page 65 that I realized that I had read it before, and even now I am not sure how long ago that was. But there is enough intriguing information that I read to the finish again, and even so I would fail an exam on some of the neuroanatomical, neurotransmitter and genetic information.
Dr. Jordan Smoller is a Harvard psychiatrist and research scientist with broad-ranging knowledge about the brain/mind mechanisms behind both normal and abnormal human behaviour. His argument that there is no sharp demarcation between normal and abnormal seems intuitive, and belies the ever-expanding arbitrary criteria for mental illnesses. The false nature/nurture dichotomy is compellingly exploded by many examples of interaction between the two. This book is just modern enough to provide some examples from the exploding field of epigenetics i.e. the influence of (often random) environmental factors on the expression of various genes, leading to the intriguing suggestion that we may not only inherit some of our grandparents genes but also some of the environmental influences on their behaviour.
There is extensive discussion of many neural pathways involved in a variety of conditions ranging from autism to psychopathy to ‘reactive attachment disorder’ and PTSD. Most of these pathways and the various neurotransmitters involved will be less than memorable to most readers, including this one. Some of the evidence for differences in neuroanatomy and connections leading to specific psychological and psychiatric effects are convincing and backed by animal experiments; others are mere correlations that may not indicate causation. It is encouraging though, that treatments such as dopamine for autism, or propanol for PTSD, are being developed based on some theories that have been formulated from animal studies.
There is, as in most social sciences writing for the general public, some meaningless psychobabble that can be annoying and distracting. “Mothers create a sense of trust in their children by that kind of administration which in its quality combines sensitive care of the baby’s individual needs and a firm sense of trustworthiness within the trusted framework of their community’s lifestyle.”
In the Prologue, Dr. Smoller states emphatically that ‘it would be absurd to claim that we can explain or describe every mental phenomenon in material terms.’ Throughout the book he carefully avoids any suggestion that the mind exists only as a product of physical phenomenon, while simultaneously documenting more and more of those physical explanations for mental activities. This blind faith in Cartesian dualism is somewhat akin to the clerics who invoke a deity to explain the gaps in our knowledge- the ‘God Of The Gaps’, an ever diminishing role for a diety. And many serious scientists and respectable philosophers do assert that there is no such thing as a mind outside of the physical brain. But the author’s designated specialty of psychiatry depends on the belief that the mind is separate from the brain, even as modern imaging makes that distinction hazy. Will psychiatry some day become a subspecialty of neurology, such as movement disorders are now?
Not a must-read, unless you are a neuroscientist, a mental health worker or a worker in early childhood development.
The Passionate Reader 