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A review by morgan_blackledge
Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine by Candace B. Pert
2.0
Oh man I really took a chance on this one.
And oh man do I feel like a dip.
Who ate skittles and farted?
My brain did when I bought this book.
It's by Candice Pert (1946 – 2013) an American neuroscientist and pharmacologist who discovered the opiate receptor, the cellular binding site for endorphins in the brain, as well as being a distinguished lead researcher at the NIMH, who published over 250 scientific articles on peptides and their receptors and the role of these neuropeptides in the immune system.
I decided to read the book despite her association with the new age movement and appearance in the film What the #$*! Do We Know!? (a major black mark against anyone, regardless of their scientific accomplishments).
So I held my nose and did it. The first part of the book is a surprisingly lucid account of Perts groundbreaking research, told in an autobiographical form that reads like part feminist critique of the old boy network of research science circa 1970, and part confessional of a rather ruthless woman who got hers by all means necessary.
In other words, when she gets passed over or ripped off by a male colleague, she's righteous and indignant (and rightly so), and when she flat out rips off male colleagues, she's brawling with the boys and doing what it takes to be successful in science (and that's life so what ever).
In addition to being a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into the cutthroat world of bench science. The book is also an informative tour of affective neuroscience and endocrinology. If you're a fan of Robert Sapolsky's work you will dig some or most of the science Ms. Pert drops.
As I read the book, I found myself waiting for her to veer south of hard science and float some rainbow flavored new age doucery. But every time it looked like she was going off the rails, she made a reasonable, evidence based claim.
So I cautiously preceded despite the lingering, faint sound and smell of skittle colored farts! When would the other shoe drop. When would she fly off the rails on a crystal Pegasus?
It's like one of those scary movies that keeps tricking you into thinking the killer is about to jump out at the victim, and then it turns out to be the goofy roommate with a mask on, or a cat in the bushes. You're tension is relieved for a moment but you know what's going to happen, so you're right back on the edge of your seat waiting for the massacre, and then you let your guard down and PAPOW!
And so it goes, slowly but surely Dr. Perts apparent personality flaws seem to catch up to her, and she goes to science jail (i.e. she pulls a slow mo Lindsey Lohan and alienates her colleagues to the point that they no longer support her and shwoop. She's suddenly an outsider, misunderstood righteous victim who's down with the Depak Chopra, and from there its a full on crystal catastrophe, replete with Christian conversion and dream healing experiences.
Ewe it stinks like a men's room at a Dairy farm all the sudden! Pure gas! I'm as ashamed as if it were I who dealt it.
I'm fully aware that I like what the other reviewers hated about the book, and disliked what other reviews seem to be after, i.e. the so called "Mind Body" medicine stuff of Dr. Perts later career.
Side rant: the fact that people still say mind body any more is totally irritating, the mind is a property of the brain, and last time I checked, the brain is a part of the body. Saying mind body is like saying vista view, what a lovely view of the vista. Calling the mind "non-physical" is not even wrong. That's how lame the idea is. For that matter, calling anything "non-physical" is not even wrong.
Anyway.
Before you write me off as a total dick skeptic, no wait a minute, I kind of am a total dick skeptic so go ahead and write me off. But if you're still reading this, I want to say that I'm not your average total dick skeptic.
I’m a therapist. I’m pretty close to finished with a doctorate degree. I teach psychology at a Buddhist University. I practice a mindfulness based psychotherapy modality as a mental health clinician, I have been meditating seriously for over 30 years. I have been doing Yoga for almost as long. I lived in India for a bit, meditated in a cave, the whole nine. But I also love science and I am a total neuroscience dork. All I can say is, there is really interesting hard science exploring mindfulness and wellbeing. Don't waste your time with this shit if you're really interested in this subject.
And oh man do I feel like a dip.
Who ate skittles and farted?
My brain did when I bought this book.
It's by Candice Pert (1946 – 2013) an American neuroscientist and pharmacologist who discovered the opiate receptor, the cellular binding site for endorphins in the brain, as well as being a distinguished lead researcher at the NIMH, who published over 250 scientific articles on peptides and their receptors and the role of these neuropeptides in the immune system.
I decided to read the book despite her association with the new age movement and appearance in the film What the #$*! Do We Know!? (a major black mark against anyone, regardless of their scientific accomplishments).
So I held my nose and did it. The first part of the book is a surprisingly lucid account of Perts groundbreaking research, told in an autobiographical form that reads like part feminist critique of the old boy network of research science circa 1970, and part confessional of a rather ruthless woman who got hers by all means necessary.
In other words, when she gets passed over or ripped off by a male colleague, she's righteous and indignant (and rightly so), and when she flat out rips off male colleagues, she's brawling with the boys and doing what it takes to be successful in science (and that's life so what ever).
In addition to being a fascinating and entertaining glimpse into the cutthroat world of bench science. The book is also an informative tour of affective neuroscience and endocrinology. If you're a fan of Robert Sapolsky's work you will dig some or most of the science Ms. Pert drops.
As I read the book, I found myself waiting for her to veer south of hard science and float some rainbow flavored new age doucery. But every time it looked like she was going off the rails, she made a reasonable, evidence based claim.
So I cautiously preceded despite the lingering, faint sound and smell of skittle colored farts! When would the other shoe drop. When would she fly off the rails on a crystal Pegasus?
It's like one of those scary movies that keeps tricking you into thinking the killer is about to jump out at the victim, and then it turns out to be the goofy roommate with a mask on, or a cat in the bushes. You're tension is relieved for a moment but you know what's going to happen, so you're right back on the edge of your seat waiting for the massacre, and then you let your guard down and PAPOW!
And so it goes, slowly but surely Dr. Perts apparent personality flaws seem to catch up to her, and she goes to science jail (i.e. she pulls a slow mo Lindsey Lohan and alienates her colleagues to the point that they no longer support her and shwoop. She's suddenly an outsider, misunderstood righteous victim who's down with the Depak Chopra, and from there its a full on crystal catastrophe, replete with Christian conversion and dream healing experiences.
Ewe it stinks like a men's room at a Dairy farm all the sudden! Pure gas! I'm as ashamed as if it were I who dealt it.
I'm fully aware that I like what the other reviewers hated about the book, and disliked what other reviews seem to be after, i.e. the so called "Mind Body" medicine stuff of Dr. Perts later career.
Side rant: the fact that people still say mind body any more is totally irritating, the mind is a property of the brain, and last time I checked, the brain is a part of the body. Saying mind body is like saying vista view, what a lovely view of the vista. Calling the mind "non-physical" is not even wrong. That's how lame the idea is. For that matter, calling anything "non-physical" is not even wrong.
Anyway.
Before you write me off as a total dick skeptic, no wait a minute, I kind of am a total dick skeptic so go ahead and write me off. But if you're still reading this, I want to say that I'm not your average total dick skeptic.
I’m a therapist. I’m pretty close to finished with a doctorate degree. I teach psychology at a Buddhist University. I practice a mindfulness based psychotherapy modality as a mental health clinician, I have been meditating seriously for over 30 years. I have been doing Yoga for almost as long. I lived in India for a bit, meditated in a cave, the whole nine. But I also love science and I am a total neuroscience dork. All I can say is, there is really interesting hard science exploring mindfulness and wellbeing. Don't waste your time with this shit if you're really interested in this subject.