Neuroscience for the Mental Health Clinician

Download or read book Neuroscience for the Mental Health Clinician written by Steven R. Pliszka and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2004-09-29 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As scientific knowledge grows about the role of the brain in mental disorder, no clinician can afford to be uninformed about neurobiology. This accessible primer provides the basic grounding in neuroscience that all contemporary mental health professionals need. Readers are first guided through the fundamentals of neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and psychiatric genetics. Chapters then illuminate the neurobiological underpinnings of a range of frequently encountered disorders--including ADHD, substance abuse, mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and learning and cognitive problems--giving particular attention to the impact of psychosocial risk factors on the brain. Also examined are ways that both pharmacological and psychological interventions have been shown to alter brain chemistry as they bring about a reduction in symptoms.