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Bibliographic Information
- Title
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How the brain lost its mind : sex, hysteria, and the riddle of mental illness
- Author
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Ropper, Allan H.
- Publisher:
- Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House,
- Pub date:
- [2019]
- Pages:
- xiv, 242 pages :
- ISBN:
- 9780735214552
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Item info:
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1 copy available in
Adult nonfiction shelves.
1 copy total in all locations.
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Holdings
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612.82 ROP
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1
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Adult non-fic hardcover
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Adult nonfiction shelves
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All content
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Enriched Content
How the brain lost its mind : sex, hysteria, and the riddle of mental illness
Ropper, Allan H.
Quick Links
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MARC Record
How the brain lost its mind : sex, hysteria, and the riddle of mental illness
Ropper, Allan H.
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Personal Author:
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Ropper, Allan H.
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Title:
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How the brain lost its mind : sex, hysteria, and the riddle of mental illness / Allan H. Ropper, MD and Brian David Burrell.
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Physical description:
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xiv, 242 pages : illustration ; 24 cm
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Summary:
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"The remarkable, intertwined histories of neurology, psychiatry, neurosyphilis, and hysteria, and the derailing of a coordinated approach to mental illness. In 1882, Jean-Martin Charcot was the premiere physician in Paris, having just established a neurology clinic at the infamous Salpetriere Hospital, a place that was called a "grand asylum of human misery." Assessing the dismal conditions, he quickly set up to upgrade the facilities, and in doing so, revolutionized the treatment of mental illness. Many of Charcot's patients had neurosyphilis (the advanced form of syphilis), a disease of mad poets, novelists, painters, and musicians, and a driving force behind the overflow of patients in Europe's asylums. A sexually transmitted disease, it is known as "the great imitator" since its symptoms resemble those of almost any biological disease or mental illness. It is also the perfect lens through which to peel back the layers to better understand the brain and the mind. Yet, Charcot's work took a bizarre turn when he brought mesmerism--hypnotism--into his clinic, abandoning his pursuit of the biological basis of illness in favor of the far sexier and theatrical treatment of female "hysterics," whose symptoms mimic those seen in brain disease, but were elusive in origin. This and a general fear of contagion set the stage for Sigmund Freud, whose seductive theory, Freudian analysis, brought sex and hysteria onto the psychiatrist couch, leaving the brain behind. How The Brain Lost Its Mind tells this rich and compelling story, and raises a host of philosophical and practical questions. Are we any closer to understanding the difference between a sick mind and a sick brain? The real issue remains: where should neurology and psychiatry converge to explore not just the brain, but the nature of the human psyche?"-- Provided by publisher.
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Subject term:
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Neurosciences--History.
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Subject term:
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Brain--Research--History.
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Subject term:
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Mental illness.
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Added Entry-Personal Name:
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Burrell, Brian, 1955-
