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Psychiatry, a History

On history, literature, sleep, pharmacology.

Cover of Contes Grotesques, from a painting by Odilon Redon, published by Paul Ollendorff, 1882
Alcoholism
A Suicide Prepared for a Long Time

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on August 14, 2023

Experts have pondered the ever-increasing toll of drinking in Edgar Allan Poe's life and the possibility that his symptoms may have resulted from other substances.

Experts have pondered the ever-increasing toll of drinking in Edgar Allan Poe's life and the possibility that his symptoms may have resulted from other substances.

Cajal drawing of nervous system tissue.
Neuroscience
Santiago Ramón y Cajal and the Neuron Doctrine

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on February 25, 2023

Personality qualities as well as scientific findings contributed to the decades-long debate between Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi, which gave birth to neuroscience.

Personality qualities as well as scientific findings contributed to the decades-long debate between Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi, which gave birth to neuroscience.

Neuroscience
The Relation Between Neuroscience and War

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on December 9, 2022

The roots of neuroscience are deeply embedded in World War II, and understanding it is aided by looking at how its early leaders affected, and were affected, by it.

The roots of neuroscience are deeply embedded in World War II, and understanding it is aided by looking at how its early leaders affected, and were affected, by it.

Yard of the home where Dickinson spent most of her life.
Depression
Emily Dickinson: The Later Years

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on July 5, 2022

Part II: With Dickinson, like other figures such as Herman Melville and Charles Darwin, the life of the writer has been as rich a source of fascination as the writings themselves.

Part II: With Dickinson, like other figures such as Herman Melville and Charles Darwin, the life of the writer has been as rich a source of fascination as the writings themselves.

The Homestead, where Dickinson lived for all but 15 years of her life, is now known as the Emily Dickinson Museum, 2008.
Creativity
Emily Dickinson: The Making of the Lady in White

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on May 31, 2022

Part I: An outwardly quiet life through her 30s was filled with a sense of loss, solace from nature and friendship, and resilience after the emotional time she called The Terror.

Part I: An outwardly quiet life through her 30s was filled with a sense of loss, solace from nature and friendship, and resilience after the emotional time she called The Terror.

Darwin's study, from Charles Frederick Holder: 'Charles Darwin, HIs LIfe and Work', 1891.
Health
Charles Darwin: Life After 'On the Origin of Species'

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on April 21, 2022

Views of Darwin's illnesses have evolved, mirroring the current interests of researchers. To paraphrase a comment about Edgar Allan Poe, everyone who writes about him chooses their own Darwin.

Views of Darwin's illnesses have evolved, mirroring the current interests of researchers. To paraphrase a comment about Edgar Allan Poe, everyone who writes about him chooses their own Darwin.

Creativity
Charles Darwin: A Life of Illness and Creativity

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on March 8, 2022

Darwin's many afflictions, including palpitations, fainting, GI disturbances, tinnitus, headache, and numbness, confounded his doctors and led to many unhelpful treatments.

Darwin's many afflictions, including palpitations, fainting, GI disturbances, tinnitus, headache, and numbness, confounded his doctors and led to many unhelpful treatments.

Freud's couch in London, 2004
Freudian Psychology
Freud and the World Wars

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on February 2, 2022

Freud's disillusion after World War I, and persecution by the Gestapo in the time leading up to World War II, elicited creative responses.

Freud's disillusion after World War I, and persecution by the Gestapo in the time leading up to World War II, elicited creative responses.

Illustration of chemical neurotransmission, a principle first confirmed by Otto Loewi.
Neuroscience
The World War II Era Roots of Modern Neuroscience

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on January 4, 2022

Modern neuroscience, like psychopharmacology, evolved from the World War II era. Many of the discoverers fled Hitler's Europe or suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

Modern neuroscience, like psychopharmacology, evolved from the World War II era. Many of the discoverers fled Hitler's Europe or suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

Depression
Herman Melville: The Troubled Years After Moby Dick

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on October 24, 2021

Melville's life was marked by largely unexplained medical complaints, as well as periods of seemingly boundless energy and euphoria, alternating with deep despair.

Melville's life was marked by largely unexplained medical complaints, as well as periods of seemingly boundless energy and euphoria, alternating with deep despair.

Russian stamp depicting Ludwig Guttmann as a ‘sports legend’, after the XI Paralympic Winter Games held in 2014 in Sochi.
Neuroscience
The Origin of the Paralympics

Wallace B. Mendelson M.D. on August 19, 2021

The Paralympics are but one of the many contributions to psychiatry and neurology by a remarkable group of physicians who fled Hitler's Germany on the eve of World War II.

The Paralympics are but one of the many contributions to psychiatry and neurology by a remarkable group of physicians who fled Hitler's Germany on the eve of World War II.