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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent primer on the chemistry of the brain.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Overview and Future of Modern Psychiatry in 215 pages
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Overview and Future of Modern Psychiatry in 215 pages
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: My Favourite Book in the world!!
Review: 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
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