Neuroscience for the Mental Health Clinician, Second Edition

Steven R. Pliszka, MD, is Dielmann Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he served as Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from 1995-2015. Throughout his career, Dr. Pliszka has been involved in a wide range of administrative, research, clinical, and educational activities. His research focuses on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related disorders; he has been involved with numerous clinical trials of medications for ADHD and currently uses functional magnetic imaging to try to understand the mechanisms of action of ADHD treatments. He has also been involved in several projects to integrate mental health services into pediatric primary care. Dr. Pliszka maintains an active clinical practice and serves as the attending psychiatrist for two residential facilities for children with severe behavioral and emotional disorders.

"Impressive. Pliszka combines the warm, engaging style of an experienced teacher with the depth and breadth of a scientific leader. He carefully describes seminal studies of brain function in both healthy and disordered populations. This book provides a refreshing and dispassionately candid view of what is currently known about the relationship between behavior and neural networks, as well as how far we still need to go to improve understanding and treatment. The second edition incorporates state-of-the-art imaging studies, large-scale genetic and epigenetic experiments, and optogenetic advancements. This book could easily be used in clinical neuroscience courses for non-neuroscience graduate programs like clinical psychology. It also serves as a desk reference for practicing clinicians who wish to understand the latest technological breakthroughs."--Scott A. Langenecker, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago"Since the first edition of this book was published, behavioral neuroscience has exploded with new research. The second edition focuses on how genetics, development, and the environment interact to shape brain networks and the implications of those networks. This book is ideal as a text for a neurobiology seminar for psychiatry residents, child psychiatry fellows, medical students, or psychology students, or as independent reading for clinicians who wish to understand how brain structure and function affect emotions and behavior. It offers cutting-edge, understandable explanations of current ideas regarding the biology of mental illness."--Mina K. Dulcan, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago"Addressing the neuroanatomy and neuropathological underpinnings of such disorders as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and mood disorders, the second edition of this extremely valuable resource has a new emphasis on networks. Pliszka underscores our burgeoning knowledge that the brain does not work in isolated units, but rather in concert across brain regions. He presents emerging empirical findings and transactional ideas that deepen our understanding of how the environment influences the brain, and vice versa. This book belongs in every practitioner's library."--Margaret Semrud-Clikeman, PhD, ABPdN, Division Director, Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School -

• I. Basic Principles1. Introduction2. Draw the Brain: Introduction to Clinical Neuroanatomy3. Neuronal Communication4. Neurotransmitters5. Genetics and Epigenetics6. Fear, Reward, and Action7. Attention and Memory8. Higher Cognitive FunctioningII. Mental Disorders9. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder10. Aggression, Antisocial Behavior, and Substance Abuse11. Mood and Anxiety Disorders12. Schizophrenia13. Autism Spectrum Disorders14. Dementia