Accepted Manuscript Title: Images and Icons: Science, Art and Healing: A meeting of minds Author: Matcheri S. Keshavan MD PII: DOI: Reference:
S1876-2018(14)00124-5 http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2014.05.004 AJP 594
To appear in:
Please cite this article as: Keshavan, M.S.,Images and Icons: Science, Art and Healing: A meeting of minds, Asian Journal of Psychiatry (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2014.05.004 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Images and Icons Science, Art and Healing: A meeting of minds Matcheri S. Keshavan MD
cr
an
us
This author had the privilege of attending a unique dialog between three eminent individuals at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in New York, on 4th may 2014. This was a conversation between Eric Kandel, eminent neuroscientist at Columbia University and the only American psychiatrist to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine, and Alan Alda, a noted Emmy winning actor. Jeffrey Lieberman, well known psychiatrist and president of the American Psychiatric Association, was the moderator. The accompanying sketches are by this author.
ip t
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School.
d
M
The dialogue touched upon several key aspects of science and education in psychiatry. Science has always been the over-riding passion for Eric Kandel. “Doing experiments is so fantastically interesting. You work with your own hands; there is a sensual pleasure involved”, he said. Kandel pioneered our Jeffrey Lieberman understanding of how we make and store memories, with his early work on aplysia, the sea slug. His book “In Search of Memory” provides a fascinating autobiographical account of his journey as a psychiatrist, and neuroscientist.
Ac ce pt e
Kandel had a lot to say about psychiatry research and education. In regard to therapeutic innovation, he said “The people who have made some of the greatest progress in psychiatry were the psychologist Aaron T. Beck who gave us cognitive therapy, and the neurologist Helen Mayberg, who developed deep brain stimulation.” (his point is well taken, though one might point out that Beck is a physician initially trained in psychiatry.) Kandel also pointed out that the current approach to training of students in psychiatry must be reconsidered. In his view, "Students should spend their first year or two studying a shared discipline" In order to progress, he pointed out that the field of psychiatry needs to become more empirical, as are the fields of neurology and biology. Kandel has previously argued that future psychiatrists will need a greater knowledge of Eric Kandel the structure and functioning of the brain than what is now available in most training programs (Kandel, 1998). He has also suggested that the field of neurology and psychiatry need to come together (Cowan et al 2000). When pointed out that he was not listed as one of Time’s most influential people of this year, Kandel said it is important not to take public attention (or lack of it) personally”take care of your science, and your science will take care of you.”
Page 1 of 3
ip t
Kandel is not only a master of the art of science, he has also brought his science (in this case a neuroscientific) to shine on art. In his 2012 book The Age of Insight, Kandel describes Vienna, his birthplace, which also saw, early in the last century, the birth of many ideas of how we now view the human mind, brain and their relation to art and literature. In that book, Kandel outlines how understanding the way the brain perceives, remembers and thinks can illuminate the world of art. He also discusses how art can help us understand the brain, without losing the esthetic experience of art in either case.
an
us
cr
Alan Alda played the doctor role in M*A*S*H, and hosted the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers. He spoke about the importance of art and creative expression: “the more scientists can express themselves in a personal way, and the more people who are in treatment do that, we are making common, simple humanity available to everyone”. Alan Alda has always been interested in science. He tried to combine products in his parent's medicine cabinet and make them explode. "Luckily I couldn't reach very high so I only had baking soda and toothpaste”.
forbidden”.
d
Alan Alda
M
Alda also pointed to the importance of emotion and storytelling as a way of effectively communicating science. He said, half-jokingly, “ the idea of reading from slides with the back turned to the audience should be
Ac ce pt e
Alda has been an outright advocate for mental health issues. In this meeting, he shared his family history of mental illness. His mother has schizophrenia and had been hospitalized. "My dad and I never talked about it," he said. Alda also shared with the audience that he takes an antidepressant every day. Kandel pointed out that thankfully, stigma has diminished considerably in recent years; he recounted how when he was a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts mental Health Center, clinicians could not enter the diagnosis of schizophrenia into medical records, with the fear that the individuals’ job prospects might be affected. There is still a long way to go, however. Alda’s courage is admirable; one hopes that more of such celebrities candidly spoke about the human conditions of mental illness, and help move toward better ways to positively address the stigma, and suffering.
References
Cowan WM, Harter DH, Kandel ER 2000. The emergence of modern neuroscience: some implications for neurology and psychiatry. Annu Rev Neurosci. 23:343-91.
Page 2 of 3
Kandel ER 1998. A new intellectual framework for psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry. 155(4):457-69.
Ac ce pt e
d
M
an
us
cr
ip t
Kandel, Eric R. 2012, The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present, New York: Random House
Page 3 of 3
S1876-2018(14)00124-5 http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2014.05.004 AJP 594
To appear in:
Please cite this article as: Keshavan, M.S.,Images and Icons: Science, Art and Healing: A meeting of minds, Asian Journal of Psychiatry (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2014.05.004 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Images and Icons Science, Art and Healing: A meeting of minds Matcheri S. Keshavan MD
cr
an
us
This author had the privilege of attending a unique dialog between three eminent individuals at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in New York, on 4th may 2014. This was a conversation between Eric Kandel, eminent neuroscientist at Columbia University and the only American psychiatrist to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine, and Alan Alda, a noted Emmy winning actor. Jeffrey Lieberman, well known psychiatrist and president of the American Psychiatric Association, was the moderator. The accompanying sketches are by this author.
ip t
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School.
d
M
The dialogue touched upon several key aspects of science and education in psychiatry. Science has always been the over-riding passion for Eric Kandel. “Doing experiments is so fantastically interesting. You work with your own hands; there is a sensual pleasure involved”, he said. Kandel pioneered our Jeffrey Lieberman understanding of how we make and store memories, with his early work on aplysia, the sea slug. His book “In Search of Memory” provides a fascinating autobiographical account of his journey as a psychiatrist, and neuroscientist.
Ac ce pt e
Kandel had a lot to say about psychiatry research and education. In regard to therapeutic innovation, he said “The people who have made some of the greatest progress in psychiatry were the psychologist Aaron T. Beck who gave us cognitive therapy, and the neurologist Helen Mayberg, who developed deep brain stimulation.” (his point is well taken, though one might point out that Beck is a physician initially trained in psychiatry.) Kandel also pointed out that the current approach to training of students in psychiatry must be reconsidered. In his view, "Students should spend their first year or two studying a shared discipline" In order to progress, he pointed out that the field of psychiatry needs to become more empirical, as are the fields of neurology and biology. Kandel has previously argued that future psychiatrists will need a greater knowledge of Eric Kandel the structure and functioning of the brain than what is now available in most training programs (Kandel, 1998). He has also suggested that the field of neurology and psychiatry need to come together (Cowan et al 2000). When pointed out that he was not listed as one of Time’s most influential people of this year, Kandel said it is important not to take public attention (or lack of it) personally”take care of your science, and your science will take care of you.”
Page 1 of 3
ip t
Kandel is not only a master of the art of science, he has also brought his science (in this case a neuroscientific) to shine on art. In his 2012 book The Age of Insight, Kandel describes Vienna, his birthplace, which also saw, early in the last century, the birth of many ideas of how we now view the human mind, brain and their relation to art and literature. In that book, Kandel outlines how understanding the way the brain perceives, remembers and thinks can illuminate the world of art. He also discusses how art can help us understand the brain, without losing the esthetic experience of art in either case.
an
us
cr
Alan Alda played the doctor role in M*A*S*H, and hosted the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers. He spoke about the importance of art and creative expression: “the more scientists can express themselves in a personal way, and the more people who are in treatment do that, we are making common, simple humanity available to everyone”. Alan Alda has always been interested in science. He tried to combine products in his parent's medicine cabinet and make them explode. "Luckily I couldn't reach very high so I only had baking soda and toothpaste”.
forbidden”.
d
Alan Alda
M
Alda also pointed to the importance of emotion and storytelling as a way of effectively communicating science. He said, half-jokingly, “ the idea of reading from slides with the back turned to the audience should be
Ac ce pt e
Alda has been an outright advocate for mental health issues. In this meeting, he shared his family history of mental illness. His mother has schizophrenia and had been hospitalized. "My dad and I never talked about it," he said. Alda also shared with the audience that he takes an antidepressant every day. Kandel pointed out that thankfully, stigma has diminished considerably in recent years; he recounted how when he was a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts mental Health Center, clinicians could not enter the diagnosis of schizophrenia into medical records, with the fear that the individuals’ job prospects might be affected. There is still a long way to go, however. Alda’s courage is admirable; one hopes that more of such celebrities candidly spoke about the human conditions of mental illness, and help move toward better ways to positively address the stigma, and suffering.
References
Cowan WM, Harter DH, Kandel ER 2000. The emergence of modern neuroscience: some implications for neurology and psychiatry. Annu Rev Neurosci. 23:343-91.
Page 2 of 3
Kandel ER 1998. A new intellectual framework for psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry. 155(4):457-69.
Ac ce pt e
d
M
an
us
cr
ip t
Kandel, Eric R. 2012, The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present, New York: Random House
Page 3 of 3
