The science of cannabinoids is 50 years old. These past years provided a remarkable and constant number of breakthroughs, showing that the signaling mediated by endocannabinoids and lipid mediators impacts almost every function of the body. Indeed, this represents a special field of research, which allows tackling the complexity of biological functions, and provides potential therapeutic frameworks for a plethora of diseases. The number of exciting discoveries brought up to the scientific community almost on a daily basis highlights the importance of an updated volume on this topic. Particularly, given that potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis and cannabinoids are currently under heavy analysis in many Countries worldwide. Hence, the main objective of this book is to explore not only some of the many functions of endocannabinoids (and lipid mediators) in physiological control of networks at a cellular and molecular level, but also to extend this knowledge for potential use of cannabinoids and/or drugs regulating endocannabinoid levels in vivo as therapeutic target(s) in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. In this book new findings and ideas about the endocannabinoid system and its roles as neuronal circuit modulator related to human brain pathologies characterized by alterations in neuroplasticity will be highlighted. Endocannabinoid roles in key systems controlling appetite, pain, learning and memory, as well as sleep and stress responses will be presented. In addition, pathological processes associated with changes in endocannabinoid signaling will be discussed in the context of anxiety, autism, depression and addiction. This book will provide an excellent background to researchers looking for extending their areas of interest, and to newcomers in the field.

This book presents the similarities and intersections between Autism Spectrum Disorders and comorbid conditions in children. It describes the prevalence and magnitude of comorbid conditions occurring in conjunction with ASD that complicate diagnosis and can potentially lead to inappropriate treatment and negative outcomes. It addresses the strengths and limitations of age-appropriate assessment measures as well as activity and motor skill measurement methods. Specific comorbid disorders are examined through the review of core symptoms, prognostic and diagnostic issues and treatment options for children on the ASD spectrum. Featured topics include: Challenging behaviors in children with ASD. Conditions ranging from feeding and gastrointestinal disorders to epilepsy. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Intellectual disability (ID). Methods and procedures for measuring comorbid psychological, medical and motor disorders. Comorbid Conditions Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians and professionals and graduate students across such fields as clinical child, school and developmental psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry and social work as well as rehabilitation medicine/therapy, behavioral therapy, pediatrics and educational psychology.

Integrated Neuroscience argues that in order to make an intelligent diagnosis and provide a rational treatment nervous system disorders, it is necessary to answer the basic questions of clinical neurology. Where is the disease process located, and what is the nature of the disease process? For students to answer these questions, the authors first review the makeup of the cells within the central nervous system and the development of the regions within the central nervous system. A detailed anatomical overview of the nervous system, starting at the spinal cord, proceeding to the brain stem, diencephalon and cerebrum follows. This textbook focuses not only on localized diseases caused by infectious diseases, trauma, tumors, and vascular lesions within the central nervous system, but also these diseases within the systems of the brain and spinal cord. Over 250 real cases with associated MRI or CTs and any pathological findings from these patients illustrate numerous disorders and fully explain the nature of the pathology. The authors have also included six problem solving sessions in which the student must identify the ongoing disease process, what caused it, and how best to treat it. Throughout the discussion in this text the authors also correlate the neurological findings to the underlying anatomy of the region.

Personality-disordered people are not uncommon in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, or even our homes. They include people who are persistently paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, antisocial, or overly dependent. Most of them do not realize the hardships they create for themselves and their families. This book is an introductory guide for those who live and work around personality- disordered people, and for general readers seeking illustrations of the disorders. Dobbert illustrates warning signs that can be missed and walks readers through scenarios that are common with personality-disordered people. He explains how such maladies might develop, and most important, how they can be successfully addressed.

This edited volume is an anthology of institutional ethnography (IE) inquiries into psychiatry-the first ever to be written. It focuses on a large variety of different geographic locations and constitutes a major contribution to anti/critical psychiatry, as well as institutional ethnography. Themes include the DSM, the use and protection of problematic psychiatric research, the penetration of psychiatry into the workplace. Adding depth and breath, the contributors, while all are schooled in IE, come from a large variety of walks of life, authors including: academics, psychiatric survivors, investigative reporters, activists, nurses, artists, and lawyers-each bringing their own unique expertise/standpoint to bear. The result is an intellectually rigorous book, contributions to several disciplines, ammunition for activism, and a compelling read that cannot be put down.

Leading researchers are specially invited to provide a complete understanding of a key topic within the multidisciplinary fields of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. In a form immediately useful to scientists, this periodical aims to filter, highlight and review the latest developments in these rapidly advancing fields.

With this fully revised fourth edition, Dr Stahl returns to the essential roots of what it means to become a neurobiologically empowered psychopharmacologist, expertly guided in the selection and combination of treatments for individual patients in practice. Embracing the unifying themes of 'symptom endophenotypes', dimensions of psychopathology that cut across syndromes, and 'symptoms and circuits', every aspect of the text has been updated to the frontiers of current knowledge, with the clarity of explanation and illustration that only Dr Stahl can bring. Integrating much of the basic neuroscience into the clinical chapters, and with major additions in the areas of psychosis, antipsychotics, antidepressants, impulsivity, compulsivity and addiction, this is the single most readily readable source of information on disease and drug mechanisms. This remains the essential text for all students and professionals in mental health seeking to understand and utilize current therapeutics, and to anticipate the future for novel medications.

The main objective of this work is to provide a book with high quality content that becomes a reference and support for graduate course (Mental Health, Public Health and Epidemiology) and for research in the domain of health economics applied to mental health. Also this book might be useful for policymakers on formulating mental health policies. Key messages of this book are based on: a) mental illness represent a huge cost for society and for health care; b) health economics applied to mental health could help in the optimization of resource allocation for mental health care and for better decision making in terms of balancing costs and benefits; c) interventions and treatment should be also chosen in general medical practice and in public decision-policy according to cost-effectiveness, burden of disease and equity principles; d) quality of care is related with better outcomes, higher quality of life for clients, and with lower costs for society and health system (best value for money); e) it is possible to decrease the burden of mental disorders with cost-effective treatments. The book is divided in four main topics: 1. Introduction to Health Economics applied to Mental Health - this section is an overview of basic principles, concepts and methods used in Economics and Health Economics to enable students to make critical appraisal of Health Economics texts and also to design research studies in this topic. 2. Health Economics applied to the evaluation of quality and costs of Mental Health Services - this section presents results of Brazilian studies on the costs of mental health care (hospital, outpatient care, residential care, informal care), methods on the measurement of costs and it discusses issues related with public policies decisions and quality of mental health car in the low and middle income countries context. There is also an overview of quality indicators of mental health care and instruments to evaluate mental health services and costs.3. Health Economics applied to evaluate treatment of mental disorders - This section presents a review of cost-effectiveness of pharmacological treatments and other interventions applied for treating the most burdensome mental disorders such as depressive and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, psychosis, alcohol and drug disorders, dementia, and hyper attention deficit disorders. 4. Health Economics, burden and indirect costs of mental disorders - This section highlights the social and economic burden caused by mental illness under societal perspective focusing on stigma, unemployment, indirect costs in the workplace (absenteeism and presenteeism), the relationship between poverty and mental disorders, global health and social determinants of mental health and on the costs of mental disorders (depression, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol and drug disorders). We present some instruments to measure indirect costs of mental disorders.

This book documents the history of ideas about problem gambling and its link to addictive disorders. The book uses a combination of literature review and conceptual and linguistic analysis to explore the way ideas about problem gambling gave changed over time. It examines the religious, socio-cultural, and medical influences on the development of the concept of problem gambling as a disease, along with the ways in which such ideas were influenced by attitudes about substance abuse. The history of mental illness, notably as it pertains to themes such as loss of control over behavior, is also addressed. The book ends with a discussion of the current status and future prospects, with an eye to which ideas about problem gambling and addictions seem most promising and which should perhaps be left behind.

This challenging and insightful work wrestles with the difficult treatment problems confronting both culturally and socially oppressed clients and psychotherapists in a society where diversity has often been resisted. The authors question long-held assumptions within the profession and urge recognition of new ethnic, racial, and gender realities which significantly impact therapies. Recognizing the implications of cultural diversity in the society, the authors-clinicians seek to broaden health professionals' awareness of clients' needs and to promote the requisite empathy. They describe how ethnic, racial, and gender issues affect psychotherapy's progress and outcomes. Specific concerns about such key factors as self-esteem, gender roles, and social regard are addressed in a context supportive of diversity enhancement rather than one seeking uniformity. Case studies offer highly valuable resource material and, through the authors' explication, insights into their challenging perspectives on this highly important health service.

Emerging approaches to treating addictions and minimizing relapse are spotlighted in this idea-packed volume, as alternatives or adjuncts to standard psychological and pharmacological therapies. Its biopsychosocial perspective delves into the causes and processes of chemical dependence, and the clinical characteristics it shares with other addictions (e.g., food, sex, gambling, online activities), to identify client needs that substance abuse may fulfill. Accordingly, the diverse modalities featured here address substance addiction on multiple levels, offering clients physical or mental stimulation and/or emotional relief as well as affording different degrees of autonomy. Methods can be mixed and matched to reinforce treatment goals, and clinicians can tailor treatment to individual issues and interests to assure clients nuanced and meaningful care. Included in the coverage: * Use of herbal medicine to treat drug addiction. * EMDR therapy and the treatment of substance abuse and addiction. * Evaluating the change processes in drug users' interventions. * Web-based interventions for substance abuse. * Physical exercise and treatment of addiction. * Mindfulness to reduce the anxiety during the abstinence * Neurofeedback to deal with craving and anxiety symptoms Psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and addiction counselors and educators will find Innovations in the Treatment of Substance Addiction a valuable sourcebook for understanding addiction-and intervention-in its wider context.

Based on extensive research, this book is a fundamental critique of psychiatry that examines the foundations of psychiatry, refutes its basic tenets, and traces the workings of the industry through medical research and in-depth interviews.

This book brings together the central tenets of William Stern's critical personalism. Presented for the first time for an English-speaking audience, this selection of original translations and essays encapsulates the critical framework of Stern's personalistic psychology. The selected works highlight the philosophical basis of Stern's personalistic views, illustrate their relevance in domains of theoretical and practical importance in psychology, and reveal Stern's critical stance on certain methodological trends that were gaining favor within psychology during his lifetime. Lamiell's own chapters contextualise the translations by providing an overview of the most basic tenets of critical personalism, and offering a commentary on paradigmatic commitments within scientific psychology's mainstream that began to impede Stern's efforts prior to his death, and that remain obstacles to personalistic thinking in the discipline today. Largely ignored by his contemporaries, this work forms part of an emerging body of scholarship that seeks to reintroduce Stern's thinking into contemporary psychology. The book is intended for academically oriented scholars with interests in historical, theoretical and philosophical issues in psychology.

Emphasizing diagnosis, causality, and holistic treatment, this is the only book offering a full discussion of Avoidant Personality Disorder for therapists and sufferers. Avoidant Personality Disorder (AvPD) is an extremely widespread, devastating disorder that generally goes unrecognized or misrepresented by what little scientific literature there is on the topic. Therapists are left mystified about how to diagnose and treat it, and patients and other sufferers are at a loss as to what is wrong and how to go about correcting it. The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder is the only book available to guide both patients and those trying to help them. This thorough and much-needed volume explores the development of AvPD and presents a holistic view of its causes from the psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and interpersonal perspectives. It offers an extensive section on diagnostic criteria that will be useful to sufferers and therapists, and it discusses the various therapies for AvPD. Finally, and perhaps most critically, the book provides a section intended as a guide for psychiatrists—and a self-help guide for sufferers—including a day-by-day, one-step-at-a-time, monthly guide on how to overcome AvPD.

The chapters in this volume have been written by authors whose research work emphasizes the aggression-eliciting characteristics of people and other animals, the traits that make them targets of aggressive behavior. The clear focus of the book is on aggression by humans, although some of the authors may refer to data from other species. Chapters include aggression and violence towards other species, sexual minorities, psychiatric workers, school children, athletes, women, and drivers on highways. There are additional targets of aggressive behavior which have not been included because they are not emphasised in the research literature of psychology. Since the major concern of psychological science is with the behavior of individuals rather than groups, topics such as racial violence, warfare, and political violence have been specifically excluded.

The Developing Brain: The Internal Environment of the Developing Brain; K.M. Dziegielewska, N.R. Saunders. Neuronal Migration and Differentiation During Normal and Genetically-Perturbed Development of the Hippocampal Formation; R.S. Nowakowski. Neurochemical Aspects of the Developing Brain: Dopaminergic Innervation of the Cerebral Cortex; B. Berger. Neuropathological Indicants of Neurodevelopmental Anomalies in Schizophrenics: Clinical and Neurodevelopmental Aspects of Brain Pathology in Schizophrenia; B. Bogerts, P. Falkai. Obstetrical Events and Adult Schizophrenia; K.L. Dykes et al. Structural Imaging and Neuropsychological Evidence of Neurodevelopmental Anomalies: Structural Brain Measurements on MRI Scans in Schizophrenia; H.A. Nasrallah, et al. Morphologic Markers of Neurodevelopmental Paths to Schizophrenia; R.M. Bilder, G.Degreef. Facts About Schizophrenia and Neurodevelopment: Neurodevelopment and Chronological Curiosities of Schizophrenia; P.B. Jones, et al. Three additional articles. Index.

The primary purpose of this book and its companion volume The Behavioral Genetics of Nicotine and Tobacco is to explore the ways in which recent studies on nicotine and its role in tobacco addiction have opened our eyes to the psychopharmacological properties of this unique and fascinating drug. While The Behavioral Genetics of Nicotine and Tobacco considers the molecular and genetic factors which influence behavioral responses to nicotine and how these may impact on the role of nicotine in tobacco dependence, the present book focuses on the complex neural and psychological mechanisms that mediate nicotine dependence in experimental animal models and their relationship to tobacco addiction in humans. These volumes will provide readers a contemporary overview of current research on nicotine psychopharmacology and its role in tobacco dependence from leaders in this field of researchand will hopefully prove valuable to those who are developing their own research programmes in this important topic.

This book introduces a new theory on the substantial comorbidity that exists between many illnesses and disorders and concurrent symptoms such as pain, impaired sleep and fatigue. The specific illnesses and disorders discussed include obesity, diabetes mellitus type-II, medical illnesses including cardiovascular disease and sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, disordered eating such as binge-eating disorder and night-eating syndrome, affective distress (anxiety and depression), and comorbidities that are linked to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The book posits that the comorbidities are the result of a complex bio-psycho-behavioral mechanism that includes circadian rhythm dysfunction. It examines the statistical and methodological (e.g. measurement) problems that can complicate the understanding of comorbidity and explores a broad range of novel, existing, and repurposed therapy approaches that could have utility in treating comorbid disorders. This book will be of great value to academics as well as practitioners working in the field of psychiatry, health psychology and medicine more broadly.

Grey’s Anatomy meets One L in this psychiatrist’s charming and poignant memoir about his residency at Harvard. Adam Stern was a student at a state medical school before being selected to train as a psychiatry resident at one of the most prestigious programs in the country. His new and initially intimidating classmates were high achievers from the Ivy League and other elite universities around the nation. Faculty raved about the group as though the residency program had won the lottery, nicknaming them “The Golden Class,� but would Stern ever prove that he belonged? In his memoir, Stern pulls back the curtain on the intense and emotionally challenging lessons he and his fellow doctors learned while studying the human condition, and ultimately, the value of connection. The narrative focuses on these residents, their growth as doctors, and the life choices they make as they try to survive their grueling four-year residency. Rich with drama, insight, and emotion, Stern shares engrossing stories of life on the psychiatric wards, as well as the group’s experiences as they grapple with impostor syndrome and learn about love and loss. Most importantly, as they study how to help distressed patients in search of a better life, they discover the meaning of failure and the preciousness of success.  Stern’s growth as a doctor, and as a man, have readers rooting for him and his patients, and ultimately find their own hearts fuller for having taken this journey with him.

Kiesler's "Beyond the Disease Model of Mental Disorder" goes beyond recent volumes which argue that psychotropic medications are being overused and abused in contemporary mental health settings. Elliott Valenstein, for example, an emeritus professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Michigan, recently argues that people should be highly suspicious of the claim that all mental illness is primarily a biochemical disorder. In his 1998 book, "Blaming the Brain: The Truth about Drugs and Mental Health," Valenstein does not argue that drugs never work or that patients should discontinue taking medication. Valenstein's central point, instead, is that drugs do not attack the real cause of a disorder, since biochemical theories are an unproven hypothesis and probably a false one.

Inasmuch as Kiesler's volume is concerned exclusively with scientific explanations of mental disorders, it does not review at all the evidence for psychotropic medications or for other treatments of mental disorders. Kiesler does highlight a message similar to that of Valenstein, who rejects the hypothesis that mental illness is primarily a biochemical disorder. After a comprehensive review of the relevant scientific evidence, Kiesler concludes that henceforth the study of mental disorders must be guided by multicausal theories and research that systematically include an array of biological, psychological, and sociocultural causal factors. Kiesler adds that, in order for this to be accomplished, the mental health field and the public at large must first abandon the invalid monocausal biomedical (disease) model of mental disorder.