April
16 ,
2004
Neuroscientist
to Speak against Reliance on Drugs as Cure-All for Mental
Illness
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What causes mental
disorders? American psychiatry has long sought the answer.
Fifty years ago, the prevailing view was that a variety of
disorders had their origins in early family experiences; treatment
frequently involved years of work between therapist and patient
to find the underlying causes.
Today, "it is widely believed by most authorities and the
public alike that the cause (of mental disorders) is a chemical
imbalance of the brain," wrote Elliot S. Valenstein, professor
emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at the University of
Michigan. Prozac and lithium are prescribed to combat depression,
for instance, because they are thought to counter the chemical
imbalance blamed for the condition. "We have almost reached
the point where there will be no limits to what people believe
brain chemistry can explain," Valenstein wrote in the
introduction to Blaming the Brain: The Truth about Drugs and Mental Health (The Free Press/Simon and Schuster, 1998).
However, biochemical theories, for all their current popularity, "are
an unproven hypothesis, and probably a false one," Valenstein
argues. "I want to open up a dialogue about these issues." On
Tuesday, April 20, Valenstein will visit Mount Holyoke to give
a lecture
titled "Biochemical Theories of Mental Illness: Should
We Believe Them?" His talk is scheduled for 7:30 pm
in the Morrison Room of the Willits-Hallowell Center and
is
free
and open to the public. The occasion is the 2004 Hastorf Lecture,
an annual talk by a distinguished speaker, sponsored by Albert
and Barbara Hastorf '43. A reception will follow.
The Chronicle of Higher Education found Valenstein to
be an "unlikely
crusader" against prevailing biochemical theories. "When
Mr. Valenstein began his new book three years ago, he planned
to write a history of brain-chemistry theory, not a critique," Joshua
Rolnick wrote in the Chronicle of December 4, 1998. " 'I
used to lecture to students and put together a reasonably coherent
story,' he (Valenstein) says. 'I knew there were gaps, but
this was an emerging science.' By the time he was halfway through
writing the book, however, his skepticism had become unshakable.
'I began to feel that the evidence that didn't fit was becoming
overwhelming.' "
Gail Hornstein, professor of psychology and education at Mount
Holyoke and coordinator of this year's Hastorf Lecture, added: "I
have used Professor Valenstein's books in my classes for many
years.
Students take for granted the 'chemical imbalance' theory of
mental illnesses as a result of being bombarded with advertisements
from the drug companies who make billions of dollars on products
that purport to 'correct' such imbalances. However, when students
study Professor Valenstein's work, and see how limited the
evidence is in support of any kind of biochemical basis for
mental illness,
they are astonished and angry at having been taken in by the
drug companies' misleading claims. I'm delighted that Professor
Valenstein has accepted our invitation to lecture at Mount
Holyoke this spring, so that other students, faculty, and members
of
the local community have the opportunity to hear his careful
critique."
Valenstein is professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience
and former chair of the biopsychology program at the University
of Michigan. He is the author of more than 140 scientific articles
and six books on the physiological basis of emotion and motivation,
hormones and behavior, and the history of biological treatments
for mental illness. The recipient of many honors and awards,
Valenstein has recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award
in Behavioral Neuroscience from the International Society of
Behavioral Neuroscience. He has participated in numerous public
forums on ethical and social issues in science, including an
appearance on William F. Buckley's Firing Line, and
has been invited to lecture on his research all over the world.
Valenstein's two best-known books are Great and Desperate
Cures: The Rise and Decline of Psychosurgery and Other Radical
Treatments for Mental Illness (1986) and Blaming the
Brain (1998). He has
been the recipient of many honors, including induction into
the Academy of Science of Mexico, the Kenneth Craik Research
Award
from Cambridge University, England; an award for Outstanding
Achievement in Psychology from The City University of New York;
and an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Published Works;
and he was selected to be the 1992-1993 distinguished senior
lecturer of the LSA College of the University of Michigan.
He was elected
to the Society for Experimental Psychologists and is a member
(or fellow) of numerous professional and honorary societies,
among them the International Brain Research Organization, the
Society for Neuroscience, the American Psychological Association,
the American Psychological Society, the International Behavioral
Neuroscience Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Sigma, Sigma Xi,
and Psi Chi.
Valenstein has served on scientific advisory panels for NIH,
NIMH, NSF, the Wisconsin Primate Center, the James McKeen Cattell
Foundation, the New York State Committee for Evaluating Doctoral
Psychology Programs, the Fulbright Council for International
Exchange of Scholars, and Bowling Green State University’s
Neuroscience Center, and on the editorial boards of many professional
journals.
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