The balanced brain : the science of mental health Cover Image

The balanced brain : the science of mental health / Camilla Nord.

Science of mental health (other title)

Summary:

"There are many routes to mental well-being. In this groundbreaking book, neuroscientist Camilla Nord offers a fascinating tour of the scientific developments that are revolutionising the way we think about mental health, showing why and how events--and treatments--can affect people in such different ways. Nord explains how our brain constructs our sense of mental health--actively striving to maintain balance in response to our changing circumstances. While a mentally healthy brain deals well with life's turbulence, poor mental health results when the brain struggles with disruption. But just what is the brain trying to balance? Nord describes the foundations of mental health in the brain--from the neurobiology of pleasure, pain and desire to the role of mood-mediating chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and opioids. She then pivots to interventions, revealing how antidepressants, placebos and even recreational drugs work; how psychotherapy changes brain chemistry; and how the brain and body interact to make us feel physically (as well as mentally) healthy."

Record details

ISBN: 9780691259635
ISBN: 0691259631
Physical Description: xix, 269 pages ; 24 cm
Publisher: Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2024]
Copyright: ©2024

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-259) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction -- How the brain constructs your mental health. Natural highs: pleasure, pain, and the brain ; The brain-body axis ; Learning to expect wellbeing ; Motivation, drive, and 'wanting' -- Enhancing mental health via the brain. Placebos and nocebos ; How do antidepressants work? ; Other drugs ; How psychotherapy changes the brain ; Electric feelings ; Is there a mentally healthy lifestyle? ; The changing nature of mental health and disorder.