Psychoneuroendocrinology: The Scientific Basis of Clinical Practice

Front Cover
Owen M. Wolkowitz, Anthony J. Rothschild
American Psychiatric Pub, 2008 M08 13 - 606 pages

The mind-body connection is one of the hottest topics in medicine today, documented by enormous amounts of data regarding hormone effects on the brain and behavior.

Yet it is only now -- with the debut of this thought-provoking volume -- that we find an up-to-date, sophisticated reference that focuses on the clinical relevance of behavioral endocrinology and is written for practicing clinicians and researchers.

This wide-ranging volume shows how the principles and emerging findings of psychoneuroendocrinology can inform modern clinical practice and lead to new breakthroughs in future science and practice. Here, leading authorities -- internationally respected researchers and practicing clinicians -- review empirical findings in their areas of expertise, highlight the clinical significance of these findings, and provide, wherever appropriate, clinical guidelines for the management of patients.

Beginning with a lively history of psychoneuroendocrinology (including its many false starts), this book continues on to discussions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormone system, the gonadal hormone system, and the thyroid hormone system from each of the three paths generally used for psychoneuroendocrinological investigation: Alterations in endogenous hormone levels observed in primary psychiatric illness Psychiatric concomitants or sequelae of hormonal dysregulation in primary endocrinologic illness Behavioral effects of exogenously administered hormones or hormone antagonists (both the study of the side effects of hormonal medications and the use of hormones and hormone antagonists as psychotropic medications)

An unmatched diversity of topics reveals the full breadth and depth of this volume: diabetes mellitus, corticosteroid effects on mood and cognition, Cushing's syndrome and Addison's disease, oral contraceptives and estrogen replacement therapy, psychiatric illness associated with the menstrual cycle and perimenopause, postpartum behavioral changes, anabolic/androgenic steroid use, and a thorough review of thyroid function in psychiatric disorders.

Particularly fascinating are sections on the role of neuropeptides and hypothalamic-releasing factors in psychiatric illness, the use of laboratory tests and imaging procedures in evaluating hormonal function in psychiatric patients, the place of newer "alternative" hormonal medications such as melatonin and DHEA in therapeutics, and a provocative and compelling final chapter on the role stress plays in precipitating illness.

Designed for both clinician and researcher-scientist, this richly informative guide will also prove an invaluable addition to graduate courses in neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, the biological basis of behavior, and consultation psychiatry. Neuroscientists/neurologists, endocrinologists, obstetricians/gynecologists, internists, family practitioners, nurses, and interested laypersons round out the wide audience for this remarkable volume.

From inside the book

Contents

Chapter
3
Chapter
5
Chapter
9
Chapter 3
29
Chapter 18
34
Chapter 4
52
Chronobiology and Melatonin
83
Prolactin Growth Hormone Insulin Glucagon and Parathyroid
107
Chapter 10
245
Chapter 11
281
Chapter 12
303
Chapter 13
331
Chapter 14
361
Chapter 15
419
Chapter 16
445
Chapter 17
469

Chapter 6
139
Psychiatric Manifestations of Hyperadrenocorticism
165
Chapter 8
174
Psychiatric Effects of Glucocorticoid Hormone Medications
189
Chapter 9
205
Endocrine Imaging in Depression
499
Chapter 19
513
Index
547
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 507 - Carroll BJ. Curtis GC. Mendels J: Neuroendocrine regulation in depression. II: discrimination of depressed from nondepressed patients.
Page 249 - The disturbance markedly interferes with work or school or with usual social activities and relationships with others (eg, avoidance of social activities, decreased productivity and efficiency at work or school).
Page 131 - Prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance and plasma glucose levels in US population aged 20-74 yr.
Page 79 - Swanson, LW, Sawchenko, PE, Rivier, J., and Vale, WW (1983). Organization of ovine corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactive cells and fibers in the rat brain: An immunohistochemical study.
Page 70 - Kaye WH, Gwirtsman HE, George DT, et al: Elevated cerebrospinal fluid levels of immunoreactive corticotropin-releasing hormone in anorexia nervosa: relation to state of nutrition, adrenal function, and intensity of depression. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1987; 64:203-208 51.
Page 279 - YF, et al: Treatment of premenstrual syndrome with fluoxetine: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Obstet Gynecol 80:339-344, 1992 World Health Organization: International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.
Page 495 - Responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone in the hypercortisolism of depression and Cushing's disease: Pathophysiologic and diagnostic implications. N. EngL J. Med.
Page 277 - Schmidt PJ. Nieman LK. Danaceau MA. et al. Differential behavioral effects of gonadal steroids in women with and in those without premenstrual syndrome.

About the author (2008)

Owen M. Wolkowitz, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Psychopharmacology Assessment Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center. He was awarded the Curt P. Richter Prize in 1992 by the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology for his contributions to the field.

Anthony J. Rothschild, M.D., is the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Professor and Director of Clinical Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Medical Center, in Worchester, Massachusetts.

Bibliographic information