Book description
Biological psychiatry has dominated psychiatric thinking for the past
40 years, but the knowledge base of the discipline has increased
substantially more recently, particularly with advances in genetics and
neuroimaging. The third edition of
Biological Psychiatry
has been thoroughly updated taking into account these developments. As
in the earlier editions of the book, there are comprehensive reviews and
explanations of the latest advances in neurochemistry, neuroanatomy,
genetics and brain imaging- descriptions not only of methodologies but
also of the application of these in clinical settings. It is within this
context that there is a considerable emphasis in the book on
brain-behaviour relationships both within and without the clinical
setting.
This edition has been enhanced by the inclusion of new
chapters, one on anxiety and another on motivation and the addictions.
The chapter that relates to treatments has been extended to include
the latest information on brain stimulation techniques. The overall
book is well illustrated in order to help with an understanding of the text.
For the third edition, Professor Michael Trimble has been joined by
Professor Mark George as co-author. These are two of the world's
leading biological psychiatrists who both have considerable clinical
as well as research experience which they have brought to the book.
Unlike multiauthored texts, it has a continuity running through it
which aids understanding and prevents repetition.
This book is strongly recommended for all practising psychiatrists
and trainees wishing for an up-to-date, authoritative, easy to digest
and acessible review of the latest advances and conceptualizations in
the field. It will also appeal to neurologists interested in
neuropsychiatry and biological psychiatry or the psychiatric aspects
of neurological disorders, as well as other practising clinicians
(psychologists, social workers, nurses) in the mental health field.
Professor Trimble was for many years Professor of
Behavioural Neurology and Consultant Physician to the Department of
Psychological Medicine at the National Hospital Queen Square, London.
He now holds emeritus status at the above institutions. He studied
general medicine, obtaining membership of the Royal College of
Physicians before going to the National Hospital Queen Square and then
the Maudsley Hospital to advance his training in neurology and
psychiatry. Following an internship in psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins
Hospital, Baltimore, he returned to the National Hospital to pursue a
career in neuropsychiatry. He set up a research group with main
interests in the interface disorders between neurology and psychiatry,
reflected in the developing recognition of neuropsychiatry and
behavioural neurology as independent disciplines. The research group
(Raymond-Way Unit) explored the behavioural consequences of
neurological disorders and their treatment, with a major interest in
epilepsy and movement disorders. His current writing and academic
interests involve teaching and lecturing on neuroanatomical concepts
relevant to understanding behaviour and its variations, in particular
with an interest in neuroaesthetics and neurotheology, namely the
cerebral basis of artistic and religious experiences.
Dr. George received his medical degree from the Medical
University of South Carolina in Charleston in 1985, where he continued
with dual residencies in neurology and psychiatry. He is board
certified in both areas. He worked for one year (1990-91) as a
Visiting Research Fellow in the Raymond Way Neuropsychiatry Research
Group at the Institute of Neurology, London. He and Professor Trimble
used pharmacology and imaging to study the overlaps between
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome.
During this year he also worked on new functional imaging techniques
(SPECT and PET) at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University
College of London and Middlesex School of Medicine, London. He wrote
one of the first textbooks in the new area of brain activation and
imaging. Dr George then moved to Washington, DC, working with Dr.
Robert Post in the Biological Psychiatry Branch of the Intramural
National Institute of Mental Health. He was one of the first to use
functional imaging (particularly oxygen PET) to assess brain changes
associated with normal emotions, as well as using imaging to
understand brain changes which occur in depression and mania. This
imaging work directly led to his pioneering use of transcranial
magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a probe of neuronal circuits regulating
mood, and to clinical trials using TMS as an antidepressant. In 2008
prefrontal TMS was FDA approved as an antidepressant treatment. In
1995 he moved back to Charleston and built the functional neuroimaging
division and brain stimulation laboratories. This imaging group has
grown into the MUSC Center for Advanced Imaging Research, which is now
part of the SC Brain Imaging Center of Excellence. He continues to use
imaging and non-invasive stimulation, either separately or more
recently in combination, to understand the brain regions involved in
emotion regulation in health and disease. In 1998, he pioneered
another new treatment for resistant depression, vagus nerve
stimulation, that was recently FDA approved. He and his group have
used MRI imaging to understand brain stimulation brain effects. He is
on several editorial review boards, and has published over 200
scientific articles, and has written or edited 5 books. He is the
editor-in-chief of a new journal, Brain Stimulation.He has
received several international awards, including the World Federation
of Societies of Biological Psychiatry Lifetime Achievement Award
(2007), the NARSAD Falcone Award (2008) and he was honored as one of
14 'Pioneers of Medical Progress' saluted in the August 2009 edition
of US News & World Report.
