The New Mind-Body Science of Depression

[A] must-read for even the most skeptical of mental health professionals because it will revolutionize their understanding of major depression and mental illness altogether and provide them with ample resources to better assist their patients.-- Somatic Psychotherapy Today Maletic and Raison, two obviously very experienced psychiatric clinician-scientists, have provided a provocative and well written tome highlighting the major advances that have occurred in the last decade concerning our understanding of depression and how this impacts current diagnostic procedures and treatment. They cover a vast and burgeoning area of neuroscience as it relates to mood disorders including genetics, epigenetics, inflammation, neuroendocrinology, brain imaging, and neurotransmitters. They excel in distilling complex science into readily understandable prose that will be a delight for students, patients, mental health professionals, and physicians of all subspecialties. The case reports at the end are a real bonus, both true to life and informative. It is rare for physicians and scientists to be able to write this well.--Charles B. Nemeroff, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, U of Miami Written at a somewhat post-modern moment in the history of psychiatry in which our nomenclature seems increasingly removed from therapeutics and the machinery of antidepressant drug discovery has nearly ground to a halt, The New Mind-Body Science of Depression provides a visionary synthesis of several decades of research on the depressive disorders. At over 600 pages, this is not a quick read, but it is chock full of the latest research on genetics, brain biology, neuroimmunology, and pharmacology, colored by the authors' insights gleaned from evolutionary biology. The book ends with three interesting case studies that illustrate how their synthesis can help us make a better difference in patients' lives. Maletic and Raison, widely known as master educators from their captivating talks at the US Psychiatric Congresss, show that they can write as well as they teach. You won't think about depression the same way again after reading this captivating volume!--Michael E. Thase, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine and Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia