Main description:

Schizophrenia is one of the most devastating and mysterious mental illnesses. People with schizophrenia have the unique sensation that their brain is being taken over by external entities and that their heads are filled with voices that are not their own. Although it is increasingly recognized as a biological illness of the brain, it also has profound psychological implications for how we perceive reality.

The Madness Within Us: Schizophrenia as a Neuronal Process is an illuminating discussion of these two aspects of the illness. Dr. Robert Freedman, who is both a neuroscientist and a practicing clinical psychiatrist, outlines the emerging understanding of shizophrenia as a neurobiological illness and shows how these new insights can be used as a bridge to the psychological understanding of the delusions and hallucinations. He combines the findings of modern brain science with insights
from the clinical practitioner's empathic listening to patients as they describe their problems.

Contents:

Preface
Chapter 1. Schizophrenia as a Philosopher's Concern
Chapter 2. The Clinical Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Chapter 3. The Neurobiology of Sensory Gating Deficits
Chapter 4. Further thoughts on the fine tuning of sensory gating
Chapter 5. An Insight from Genetic Studies of Schizophrenia
Chapter 6. Paranoid Conviction
Chapter 7. Treatment of Schizophrenia
Chapter 8. Beyond the Dopamine Theory
Chapter 9. Talking with a person who has schizophrenia
Chapter 10. Developmental Course of Schizophrenia
Chapter 11. A Final Piece of Neurobiology-and a Final Thought