Cells in the brain, called neurons, communicate with one another using chemicals referred to as  neurotransmitters. Many neurotransmitters are derived from amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Amino acids […]

The basis of the theory of evolution is that random changes in genes will be passed down to future generations if they offer some advantage to survival of the species. […]

A number of years ago, there was an incident in which the NFL star Ray Rice punched his then fiancé, Janay Palmer, in the face in an elevator. A camera […]

The cerebellum is an evolutionarily old part of the brain. It is a multilayered structure that lies beneath and behind the larger paired areas of the brain called the cerebral […]

In 1964 Norman Cousins, the well-known editor of the Saturday Review, was hospitalized with a mysterious autoimmune disease.  He suffered high fever, severe pain, and near-paralysis. Mainstream medicine offered little […]

I was in my first year of psychiatry residency, and I was very concerned about a young woman that had been admitted to the inpatient ward. She had long before […]

It has long been conjectured that the way we think, feel, and view the world is determined by the language we use. This has come to be known as the […]

Charles Bonnet was an 18th Century Swiss naturalist and philosopher. His 87-year-old grandfather came to him with some unusual complaints. The elderly man was becoming nearly blind from cataracts in […]

Any medication can cause side effects, ranging in severity from trivial to life-threatening. There can also be psychiatric side effects, such as depression, mania, confusion, or even psychosis. Some medications […]

I had been seeing him as an outpatient for about 8 months. He was a pleasant man, and I enjoyed our interactions. He suffered bipolar disorder, but was also substantially […]