Serotonin in Antipsychotic Treatment [antikvár]

Introduction The history of psychiatry is fraught with enthusiasm followed by disillusionment. The linkage by Broca and Wernicke of certain aphasias with specific areas of the brain was heralded by many, including Freud (as witnessed by his Project for a Scientific Psychology), as evidence that brain physiology and pathology would soon help us understand and treat psychiatric pathology. Psychoanalytical theory and practice played a similar role. Loewi's proof that nerve impulses were indeed transmitted by a chemical (then dubbed "vagus stuff," and later characterized and named "acetylcholine") was the harbinger of multiple neurotransmitters to be discovered, characterized, named, and have something of their anatomical and physiological roles described. The discovery of the endorphins was thought to be the forerunner to conquering addiction, and dopamine was thought to explain schizophrenia. Many of these discoveries have elicited the same initially enthusiastic, somewhat naive, response, "We have the answer." Perhaps in part, but certainly not yet. While each of these contributions contains at least a kernel of truth, they each continue to require revision, refinement, and integration with other viewpoints of the complexity of mind-brain function. Serotonin in Antipsychotic Treatment: Mechanisms and Clinical Practice modifies our naiveté as well as stimulates our enthusiasm. The editors and contributors provide us with a balanced view of the shortcomings of a purely ni