Serotonin
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, talks about the chemical serotonin and the role it plays in the brain. As it turns out, harm avoidance is controlled by ser..
Serotonin and Violence
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, continues his comments about serotonin. Dr. Hamer explains that in addition to making people feel depressed, serotonin seem..
Sexual Orientation and Genetics (Part Four)
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, explains that there are some inconsistencies in research data concerning the link between genetics and sexual orientation i..
Sexual Orientation and Genetics (Part One)
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, talks about the possibility that there is a genetic component to sexual orientation. Dr. Hamer also discusses some differen..
Sexual Orientation and Genetics (Part Three)
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, explains that while there does appear to be a genetic component to sexual orientation, the genetic component is not the onl..
Sexual Orientation and Genetics (Part Two)
Dean Hamer, Director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute, expands on his discussion of sexual orientation and genetics. Dr. Hamer explains that work with identical twins has provide..
Sleep Disorders
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, Director of Adult Psychiatry at UCLA, explains that the word "insomnia" tends to be a catch-all term that refers to any type of sleep disorder. Dr. Leuchter discusses a range of sleep problems, inclu..
Speaking for the Voiceless
Dr. Astrid Heger, Director of the Violence Intervention Program at L.A. County-USC Medical Center, talks about the dual frustrations of having to deal with an often unresponsive federal bureaucracy, as well as the attitu..
State of Mind: Anxiety Disorders
Psychotherapy is particularly important in breaking the cycle of anxiety disorders, whether they take the form of panic attacks or eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Michael Strober, Director of the Eati..
State of Mind: Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa: Beginnings
There is no specific triggering event other than the stress associated with puberty that has been linked to bulimia or anorexia nervosa. For Erin, the cycle of bulimia began when she purged the junk food she had eaten fo..