Overview

"""Adjust Your Brain"" represents a landmark breakthrough for the field of psychiatry. It distils a synthesis of information from the scientific literature, popular literature, and personal experience into a simple model of brain chemistry that is easy to understand. The model is based on the interactions of three brain chemicals - aeserotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine - aethat are acted upon by nearly every psychiatric medication. It suggests that the different ""strengths"" of these three chemicals produce different personality characteristics, and that the strength of at least one of the three is awry in most cases of mental illness, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and others. Tweaking the strengths of serotonin and norepinephrine with the existing drugs to mid-range and therefore optimal degrees not only treats nearly every type of mental illness, but also will produce a significant improvement in quality of life for most people who are considered normal. By adjusting your brain in this manner, you may not only become more passionately alive and truly content, but also live up to your full potential. If we as a society were to implement ""The Adjustment"" on an international scale, it may not only improve nearly everyone's lives, but also have very positive effects on human relationships and the very functioning of society."

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9781846940552

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Much has been written about antidepressant drugs but few authors have addressed the synergies that may exist between different agents so that carefully designed combination therapy may help unresponsive patients. The present volume describes a novel approach to multi-drug use in depression. Dr. Sol Snyder, MD., founder and former head of the neuroscience department at John Hopkins University, Lasker Award winner Fascinating, enthralling, and controversial. Paul Fitzgerald's theories of brain functioning and mental illness are certain to capture the attention of the lay person and the esteemed scientist alike. Regardless of your opinion of his ideas, this book is certain to do one thing: make you think very deeply about your perceptions, your emotions, your moods, and the very nature of what it is to be human...and about our abilities to alter these through the use of psychopharmacology. Dr. Ryan K. Lanier, PhD, Behavioral Pharmacologist, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences This splendid book follows in the tradition of suffering scientists who present both a harrowing personal narrative and an up-to-date scientific understanding of mood disorders in particular and psychiatry in general. A provocative read whether you agree or not. Dr. Arnold E. Andersen, MD Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine Paul Fitzgerald's new book, Adjust Your Brain, provides a compelling look at mental illness from the point of view of someone who is both a mental health patient and a PhD brain researcher. It combines aspects of introspection from his own history with elements of psychopharmacology to provide an integrative view of an affective theory of the neurochemical systems of the mind. Anyone interested in mental health and psychopharmacology will find it a fascinating read. Dr. David T. Blake, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia Dr. Fitzgerald's book offers a clear and in-depth understanding and explanation of mental illness from the perspective of both patient and scientist. Dr. Fitzgerald wonderfully presents his personal exploration of his scientific and subjective experiences with mental illness. Dr. Michael Heitt, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Paul Fitzgerald has written a concise and easy to read book on the use of drugs to treat mental illness. His thesis is that most patients could benefit from a carefully selected combination of drugs that target several different chemical systems in the brain. Regardless of whether he's right, the book is informative about how brain chemistry works. Dr. Joseph LeDoux, PhD, University Professor New York University, author of The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self In this book, Dr. Fitzgerald proposes nothing less than a Unified Theory of human affect, personality, and motivation based on the balance of neurotransmitter systems in the brain. Furthermore, he argues that achieving neurotransmitter balance is essential for living life to its full potential. This is an elegant and provocative idea shaped equally by academic research and by personal experience. The author's own struggle with depression has granted him a unique perspective and a sense of urgency to comment on the promise of psychopharmacology. Dr. Fitzgerald advocates a deeply humanistic view, in which suffering is not an inescapable consequence of the human condition. He also convincingly argues that this is not a utopian goal, but within reach of modern medicine. Although the book never strays from arguments grounded on current research, it provides a condensed primer on brain function and it is written in an accessible manner that makes it equally enjoyable to all readers. It makes fascinating reading both for the wealth of information it provides and for its deep social and philosophical implications. Dr. Christos Constantinidis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Author Information

Paul Fitzgerald has a PhD in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, and has produced pioneering brain mapping studies with some of the most widely respected neuroscientists in the world. His scientific work on the organization of the brain has been published in several highly respected, peer reviewed journals.

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