Karl Deisseroth has spent his life pursuing truths about the human mind, both as a renowned clinical psychiatrist and as a researcher creating and developing the revolutionary field of optogenetics, which uses light to help decipher the brain’s workings. In "Projections", he combines his knowledge of the brain’s inner circuitry with a deep empathy for his patients to examine what mental illness reveals about the human mind and the origin of human feelings—how the broken can illuminate the unbroken.
Through cutting-edge research and gripping case studies from Deisseroth’s own patients, Projections tells a larger story about the material origins of human emotion, bridging the gap between the ancient circuits of our brain and the poignant moments of suffering in our daily lives. The stories of Deisseroth’s patients are rich with humanity and shine an unprecedented light on the self—and the ways in which it can break down. A young woman …
Karl Deisseroth has spent his life pursuing truths about the human mind, both as a renowned clinical psychiatrist and as a researcher creating and developing the revolutionary field of optogenetics, which uses light to help decipher the brain’s workings. In "Projections", he combines his knowledge of the brain’s inner circuitry with a deep empathy for his patients to examine what mental illness reveals about the human mind and the origin of human feelings—how the broken can illuminate the unbroken.
Through cutting-edge research and gripping case studies from Deisseroth’s own patients, Projections tells a larger story about the material origins of human emotion, bridging the gap between the ancient circuits of our brain and the poignant moments of suffering in our daily lives. The stories of Deisseroth’s patients are rich with humanity and shine an unprecedented light on the self—and the ways in which it can break down. A young woman with an eating disorder reveals how the mind can rebel against the brain’s most primitive drives of hunger and thirst; an older man, smothered into silence by depression and dementia, shows how humans evolved to feel not only joy but also its absence; and a lonely Uighur woman far from her homeland teaches both the importance—and challenges—of deep social bonds.
Illuminating, literary, and essential, "Projections" is a revelatory, immensely powerful work. It transforms our understanding not only of the brain but of ourselves as social beings—giving vivid illustrations through science and resonant human stories of our yearning for connection and meaning.
An Engaging, If Not Meaty, Exploration of Psychiatry
3 stars
Karl Deisseroth explores various psychiatric disorders with flowery prose here, bringing in a bit of neuroscience and optogenetic studies to illuminate some of the underlying processes at play. By far the best chapter here is on schizophrenia, and since I've spent a lot of time interacting with people with schizophrenia I can tell you it very nicely captures the essence of those conversations and thought processes. As a heads up this is more of a memoir than a scientific book though, so plan accordingly.
I really, really liked this book. The author is a researcher who pioneered the field of optogenetics, which basically lets him stimulate and study particular neural pathways in rats in order to assess how the neural structure correlates to behaviour. He is also a psychiatrist and still occasionally works as one, as well as a gifted writer. He brings these traits together to talk about mental illnesses – each chapter is generally dedicated to one illness, exemplified by the story of one patient he saw, along with the author's study of that illness from a neurological perspective.
I found the author's descriptions of his patient interactions very compassionate and they in themself helped me gain a better understanding of what mental illness can feel like for those afflicted. But it was the combination with his research on what the neurological underpinnings of those illnesses were, and how misfirings of neural …
I really, really liked this book. The author is a researcher who pioneered the field of optogenetics, which basically lets him stimulate and study particular neural pathways in rats in order to assess how the neural structure correlates to behaviour. He is also a psychiatrist and still occasionally works as one, as well as a gifted writer. He brings these traits together to talk about mental illnesses – each chapter is generally dedicated to one illness, exemplified by the story of one patient he saw, along with the author's study of that illness from a neurological perspective.
I found the author's descriptions of his patient interactions very compassionate and they in themself helped me gain a better understanding of what mental illness can feel like for those afflicted. But it was the combination with his research on what the neurological underpinnings of those illnesses were, and how misfirings of neural pathways show up in the experience of the patients, that made this book so compelling.
I'm not sure I learned anything particular about mental illness here, except for some factoids I now remember better. But I do feel like I've gained a lot of understanding and compassion, and I recommend this book without hesitation.
