A neuroscientist explores the biological bases of schizophrenia and tells the heartbreaking story of his own brother’s battle with the disease. When bright lives are derailed by schizophrenia, bewildered and anxious families struggle to help, and to cope, even as scientists search for causes and treatments that prove elusive. Painful and often misunderstood, schizophrenia profoundly affects people who have the disease and their loved ones. Here Ronald Chase, an accomplished biologist, sets out to discover the facts about the disease and better understand what happened to his older brother, Jim, who developed schizophrenia as a young adult. Chase’s account alternates between a fiercely loyal and honest memoir and rigorous scientific exploration. He finds scientific answers to deeply personal questions about the course of his brother’s illness. He describes psychiatric practice from the 1950s—when electroconvulsive shock therapy was common and the use of antipsychotic medications was in its infancy—to the development of newer treatments in the 1990s. Current medical and scientific research increases our understanding of genetic and environmental causes of the disease. Chase also explores the stigma of mental illness, the evolution of schizophrenia, the paradox of its persistence despite low reproduction rates in persons with the disease, and the human stories behind death statistics. With the author’s intimate knowledge of the suffering caused by this disease, Schizophrenia emphasizes research strategies, the importance of sound scientific approaches, and the challenges that remain. “A rare combination of family memoir and accessible explanation of the neuroscience, genetics, and the epidemiology of schizophrenia. I simply love this book.” —Patrick Tracey, PsychCentral
Everyone knows about the celebrated discoveries in physical medicine, yet few people can name a single discovery in psychiatry. This book fills the gap by recounting the paths taken to fifteen breakthroughs in psychiatry. Told here are stories of how an Australian psychiatrist single-handedly discovered an effective medication for mania and why it was never patented; what an eighteenth century physician found beneath the skull of patients residing at a hospital where the infamous Marquis de Sade staged plays; the eery X-rays that revealed the first biomarker for schizophrenia; how magnetic resonance imaging detects damaged nerve bundles by tracking water molecules in the brain; what a pig slaughterhouse contributed to the treatment of depression. And much more. Taken in their entirety, the chapters cover all or most of the major topics in psychiatry, namely care and treatment, diagnostics, biomarkers, and neuroscience. They follow a rough chronological order beginning around the year 1800 and continuing right through to the present. Deeply researched and fully referenced, the language is non-technical. Sixty-six illustrations accompany the text. This book will help people understand where psychiatry has come from and where it is likely headed.
The field of psychiatry changed dramatically in the latter half of the nineteenth century, largely by embracing science. The transformation was most evident in Germany, where many psychiatrists began to work concurrently in the clinic and the laboratory. Some researchers sought to discover brain correlates of mental illness, while others looked to experimental psychology for insights into mental dynamics. Featured here, are the lives and works of Emil Kraepelin - often considered the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, his teacher Bernhard Gudden, and his anatomist colleague Franz Nissl. The book describes scientific findings together with the methods used; it explains why diagnoses were then (and are still now) so difficult to make; it also explores mind-brain controversies. The Making of Modern Psychiatry will inform and delight mental health professionals as well as all persons curious about the origins of modern psychiatry. ``Ronald Chase has provided fascinating information about the 19th century scientists' thinking on behavioral disorders: how to identify them, how to treat them, how to understand them ... He is a terrific writer and has compiled very interesting stories that bring to life the thinking of the time and the condition of serious mental illnesses in their first stages of understanding ... The author weaves the work of the 20th to 21st centuries nicely into his story ... gives optimism for a brain-based understanding in the future.'' Carol Tamminga, M.D. Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
On November 12, 1971, Bernard Patterson, a much decorated Vietnam War hero, turned a real-life version of Don Quixote, Butch Cassidy, and Robin Hood all rolled into one package, robbed the Northern National Bank in Mars Hill, Maine. He escaped with $110,000; at the time, the largest bank robbery in the history of the state. A tunnel rat and paratrooper in Vietnam who rose to the rank of Sergeant, he was awarded four bronze stars and recommended for a silver star for valor. He returned home to northern Maine broke and disillusioned. Wearing dark glasses, dressed in a Marx Brother’s ankle length coat and wearing a blue wig, he robbed the bank, even though he was recognized by the elderly teller. He initially escaped by paddling a rubber raft down the Prestile Stream. This was the beginning of a comic, outrageous, implausible journey that took him across the United States, then to Europe and North Africa before finally surrendering to authorities in Scotland Yard after he had spent most of the money. Along the way, he lived a raucous life of wine and women while hobnobbing in aristocratic hangouts and giving money to those he perceived to be in need; all the time staying just a heartbeat ahead of law enforcement officials. He motor biked across Europe, hoodwinked border officials, bought a camel and got lost in the North African desert. Returned to the United States for prosecution, he was convicted and imprisoned. Released several years later, he moved back to northern Maine, where he continued to lead a reckless life that included running a “pot farm,” until he died at age 56 in 2003. When asked by a friend why he had robbed the bank, he responded, “the VA wouldn’t give me a loan, so I decided to take one out on my own.”
During the past quarter century, there has been a tremendous expansion in our knowledge about gastropods, their behavior and their neurobiology. We can understand a great deal about mammalian nervous systems by studying the relatively larger and simpler structure of the gastropod nervous system. Behavior and Its Neural Control in Gastropod Molluscs first reviews the broader aspects of molluscan biology and draws attention to the special features of the gastropod nervous system. The book then examines different types of behavior, reviewing progress in understanding the mechanisms of neural control, and emphasizing cases in which control can be attributed to identified neurons and identified neural circuits.
Mrs. Lane is a descendant of the author of the "Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key. Her book traces Key's ancestry back to the American immigrant, Philip Key of London, who settled in St. Mary's County, Maryland in 1720, and forward to a number of Key lines in the U.S. of her own era.
The first in a beautiful four-volume complete catalogue of all known works by the beloved American artist William Merritt Chase A perennial favorite of museum visitors, the works of William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) embody the quintessential characteristics of American Impressionism: outdoor landscapes, a colorful palette, and an energetic brushstroke. He was also a portrait painter of the first rank, a master of still life, a renowned teacher, and a leader of artists' societies. This gorgeous book, the first of a four-volume definitive catalogue, features Chase's stunning paintings in pastel, which constitute a major and previously understudied body of work by the artist; monotypes; painted tiles and plates; watercolors; and prints. Reconstructing Chase's oeuvre is a daunting task, as the artist left few records of any kind, and no documentation of his individual works exists. Furthermore, Chase's paintings and pastels have been forged in great numbers throughout the years, and many of these works still surface on the art market. Making this long-awaited volume even more valuable is a list of every known exhibition of Chase's work during the artist's lifetime, selected examples of major post-1917 exhibitions, and an essay on Chase's innovative pastel technique.
V. 1. "This gorgeous book, the first of a four-volume definitive catalogue, features Chase's stunning paintings in pastel, which constitute a major and previously understudied body of work by the artist; monotypes; painted tiles and plates; watercolors; and prints. Reconstructing Chase's oeuvre is a daunting task, as the artist left few records of any kind, and no documentation of his individual works exists. Furthermore, Chase's paintings and pastels have been forged in great numbers throughout the years, and many of these works still surface on the art market. Making this long-awaited volume even more valuable is a list of every known exhibition of Chase's work during the artist's lifetime, selected examples of major post-1917 exhibitions, and an essay on Chase's innovative pastel technique"--Jacket.
The memoirs of a military psychiatrist are chronicled in "Solo With Giants" revealing the forces of corruption at the antiquated Department of Veterans Affairs before its fragile infrastructure was finally exposed by the scandal of 2014. The setting of this accounting rivals that of "One Flew Over The Coo Coo's Nest" where a hospital unit composed of Vietnam combat veterans gathered to become the first such program dedicated to the treatment of PTSD. From the experiences of this often irreverent psychiatrist during the Vietnam War in 1968 and later in 2008 the reader becomes immersed to bare witness to the detailed traumatic experiences and difficulties in the aftermath of war as expressed in the context of individual treatment modalities. The author critiques his actual interviews to offer a sampling of differences and uncanny likenesses between returning combat veterans from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He shares his thoughts and interview techniques while demonstrating the difficulty in overcoming resistances and defense mechanisms to achieve a catharsis, adaptation, and healing. Collateral issues complicated PTSD as Agent Orange and HIV/AIDS became the focus of therapy sessions. The author ventured into the world of virology trying to understand HIV in the context of PTSD. When the Veterans Administration became a cabinet level department funding for staffing and programs was promised. As the PTSD program progressed the veterans became more outspoken and relevant. They complained that they never had treatment for PTSD in the past and began describing how they were neglected and abused by hospital staff members. The hospital administration was furious at these allegations. In retaliation, a compassionate and dedicated Registered Nurse was summarily removed from the PTSD program. This nurse had waged a campaign as a whistle- blower for many years trying to expose the iniquities in a Veterans Administration system that was rife with corruption and failure to adhere to the rule of law. The hospital's administration also threatened that anticipated government funding would be withheld and staffing would be cut back. There was no psychological exit strategy from war and for most of these combat veterans it was their last hope. Aided by the psychiatrist the veterans protested the retaliatory removal of the key staff nurse. The leader of the Patient Government Organization took the ward of 37 patients to march in a strike at the entrance of the VAMC, Lyons, New Jersey over one October weekend. The local media superficially covered the story of the veterans' plight but the repercussions of that strike were disastrous for all. The hospital administration denied, covered up, and was accountable to no one for any wrongdoing. The media with its myopia and failed objectivity went along with the system. Kangaroo courts ruled the day as the hospital administration prevailed to silence whistleblowers, protesting veterans and their beloved doctor. The human interest, often hilarious, insightful, captivating, and yet tragic events are told by irreverent characters that dare to enter the inner sanctum at the Veterans Administration. The hypocritical nature of the righteous hospital administrators becomes painfully obvious when perjury is discovered at the Disciplinary Appeals Board hearing. It was, however, a pyrrhic victory for one nurse who would never get to bring her testimony to a congressional hearing because the government conflates and manipulates the evidence in their "Failure Masquerading as Success." The author has maintained that PTSD was not and is not a disorder!
Imagine an experience of being trapped in a crowded elevator rising to the 35th floor when suddenly the power cuts off. Everything stops working and there is no light while you become painfully aware of being enclosed and suspended. Imagine being trapped underground in a mine for 69 days in Chile. Imagine being falsely imprisoned in a foreign land. Imagine being diagnosed with a terminal disease. Imagine being a combat soldier on your first mission, surrounded by enemy fire, when your best friend steps on a mine and is blown to pieces right next to you. Imagine your child is kidnapped. Imagine being dismembered. Imagine being a victim of rape. Imagine being carried away in a natural disaster.How long you endure the experience with its ubiquitous hopelessness and helplessness while plotted against time and the sustained nature of the experience with only the resources of hope, belief, prayer, skill and support. But what are our natural instincts and psychological, philosophical or religious endowments that enable us to overcome and survive?This work was written as a manual to explore the nature of recovery and introduce awareness of factors that facilitate adaptation and mastery over the trauma sustained in reality. Reality, as energy in laws of physics, can never be erased. What we do with the reality is the key to overcoming traumatic stress. There is always a conflict between the traumatic memories of reality and the defenses we use to combat the experiences. Successful therapy depends upon a process of learning and asking, "Where do my feelings go?"Prompted by the case studies of returning combat veterans of the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan Wars suffering from the aftermath's physical trauma, Agent Orange exposure, genetic deformities of their children, divorce, addiction, criminality, estrangement, and a military system that had no psychological exit strategy to treat them, suicide might have been the road too often chosen.This book was written in an effort to reveal the back story of inquiry to understand the complexities involved in caring for those "survivors" as the prototype designated with unrelenting stressors plotted against time.Lastly, "Media-Terror" is the term the author uses to indicate the unrestrained media bombardment of a traumatic event that multiplies the collective discontent thereby contributing to a global stress crisis. For example, the media's promulgation of a "virus" disease, Hepatitis C, an entity that causes no symptoms, is hidden within the body forever, and its existence can only be determined by testing! Yet the pharmaceutical industry advertises its "cure" without objection from a feckless medical community mindless or ignorant of its passivity in contributing inordinate stress and confusion to a naïve public.
Born in Indiana in 1849, William Merritt Chase, along with Whistler, Cassatt, and Sargent, is recognized today as one of America's premier Impressionist painters. Chase's formative years spanned a period of great change in American painting - a time when eager young artists, trained in the academies, found inspiration both in Europe and, gradually, in their own country. Chase often traveled abroad; unlike many of his contemporaries, he also chose to portray the natural beauty of America, often in city parks and simple beach scenes rather than idealized bucolic vistas." "Although for at least a half century after his death Chase was better known for his still lifes and figure paintings, now his landscapes come to light as some of his most beautiful and skilled works. They are at once the most impressionistic of his works and the most American - an important attribute for this man who was an influential educator on the art of his own country, and who, at a ball in Bruges, Belgium, bedecked with all the medals he had won over the years, proudly proclaimed himself "Duke of Indiana."" "Most celebrated among Chase's American scenes were the Prospect Park and Central Park paintings and the Long Island landscapes. Writing about Chase in Harper's New Monthly in 1889, and objecting to the overriding preference for European subjects among American artists and collectors, one critic described Chase's urban scenes as "new proof, if proof were wanted, that it is not subjects that are lacking in this country, but eyes to see them with."" "The eighty-eight full-color reproductions of Chase's landscape paintings and pastels in his book go beyond his American scenes. Spanning the years 1875 to 1914, from Chase's early days in Munich to his summer in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the book is full of different locales, all rendered in Chase's adored plein air style. Here is Madrid, Holland, Fiesole, and Venice; later, on to the city parks and the beaches, and finally the California paintings. The text is by Ronald Pisano, the foremost authority on Chase, and is supplemented by documentary photographs from Chase's life and his various working environments." "These oils and pastels are pictures of ease, of relaxation; in their portrayal of leisure-class Americans, they are intimate and restrained, but are the work of a consummately talented colorist and an artist fascinated by aesthetic technique. "If one can paint a fence-rail well," Chase once said in defense of his Long Island paintings, "it is far better than an unsuccessful attempt at the most sublime scenery, for it is not what one does, but the way it is done.""--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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