Molecules and Mental Illness (Scientific American Library Paperback) [Paperback]

Samuel H. Barondes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Scientific American Library Paperback | Publication Date: June 1999

This text explains the biological foundations of mental illness, and the impact of findings on the pharmacological treatment of those illnesses. The first half of the book discusses the molecular and genetic causes of mental illnesses; while the second half looks at psychiatric disorders through the eyes of sufferers of manic depression, schizophrenia, phobias and sufferers of compulsive disorders. The book also includes coverage of late-1990s' research and treatment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr. Barondes does a remarkable job in trying to bring together, in a single volume, data concerning molecular biology, molecular genetics, and psychiatric illness." -- Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine

"This book is perhaps best described as a brief guided tour, for the nonspecialist, through biological psychiatry from a molecular/cellular perspective. Its strength is its special combination of accuracy and readability: the author is a highly informed expert, and the production staff is experienced in popular scientific publishing." -- American Journal of Psychiatry

"This volume is written in a lively, lucid style that makes complex ideas eminently accessible. . . . It is an important contribution that will interest all thoughtful readers." -- Nature

About the Author

Samuel H. Barondes, M.D., is the Jeanne and Sanford Robertson Professor and Director of the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, he also serves as President of the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience and recently chaired the Workgroup on Genetics of the National Institute of Mental Health. Barondes is also the author of Mood Genes: Hunting for Origins of Mania and Depression (W. H. Freeman, 1998). He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: W H Freeman & Co (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716760339
• ISBN-13: 978-0716760337
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,242,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Samuel Barondes was born in Brooklyn and educated at Columbia, Harvard, and the National Institutes of Health. He joined the University of California in 1970 and is now Jeanne and Sanford Robertson Professor and Director of the Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry at its San Francisco campus (UCSF) where he works to bring together modern biology and psychiatry. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His new book, Making Sense of People: Decoding the Mysteries of Personality, will be published in May 2011.He lives in Sausalito,CA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer on the chemistry of the brain., July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Molecules and Mental Illness (Scientific American Library Paperback) (Paperback)

Dr. Barondes makes an incredibly complex subject easy to understand. He packs a great deal of information into a few, well illustrated pages. The book starts in the history of neurology, then explains the structure of neurons and goes on to describe the different brain chemicals and how they work on a molecular level.

Because of its clarity, this book would make an excellent textbook for teaching neurochemistry and its interactions with the mind.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overview and Future of Modern Psychiatry in 215 pages, November 18, 2001

By 

Nancy Moran (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Molecules and Mental Illness (Scientific American Library Paperback) (Paperback)

I asked a doctor I respected to recommend a book which was a short synopsis of the biochemical basis of Psychiatry and he said, "Amazon - up on Amazon". He was right.

The book contained some "extras" I hadn't anticipated. It is written by a Psychiatry Department Chairman (Samuel H. Barondes) and was definitely intended to cover the highlights and future of the field.

"Molecules and Mental Illness" is a phenomenal book but it should better be titled "Overview and Future of Modern Psychiatry for Those Having a Background in Science".

It is unfortunate that young doctors these days have no familiarity with the magazine, "Scientific American" for this would be a fine read for senior medical students considering Psychiatry as a specialty, for residents in Psychiatry to be reminded of the scientific, cellular and molecular basis of what they are practicing, or for more senior doctors needing a refresher course or needing an overview of the field.

Starting with an overview of the history of biological psychiatry then gross and molecular genetics, the next third of the book has to do with macro- and micro- biology with great emphasis on neuronal membrane and different receptors, eventually covering known interactions of drugs with the membrane and across a synapse.

The next third of the book delves into the major mental illnesses (schizophrenia, mania and depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder) along with their diagnostic criteria, genetics, and drug therapies (there is scant mention of electroconvulsive therapy and psychotherapy).

This book is loaded with color reproductions of paintings, of chromosomes, of neurons (cross-section intracellular, synaptically, as conductors of electrical signals), of the biochemistry of the nervous system (i.e., membrane dynamics), charts, graphs, etc., etc., etc. It is replete with schematics of relevant molecules (legal and illegal).

The Table of Contents is short, sweet and to the point.

The book itself is concise and readable but comprehensive.

Curiously, the book ends with a "Recapitulation (In Verse)", four subsections: Freud, Drugs, Genes, Stories.

"Since understanding molecules
That drive us to insanity
Provides a giant window on
The nature of humanity."

I recommend it highly to science-oriented persons and to physicians. At its price, it is a "bargain" book.

This book would be ideal for Amazon's "Look Inside" feature.

7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favourite Book in the world!!, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Molecules and Mental Illness (Scientific American Library Paperback) (Paperback)

The text is too enjoyable!! I was hooked! I am a medical graduate interested in Psychiatry and Genetics. This book is now my "bible"! THANK YOU SIR Barondes...thank you for giving me more passion for the field and inspiration for contributing to science in the future. If the Gods are on my side I will meet you someday. Salaam. Hussain