Title:Â Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health - and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More
Author: Christopher M. Palmer, MD
Year: 2022
Category: Educational books & papers
Premise:Â How is Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia and ADHD related? They are all diagnoses in the DSM-V, yes, but could they all be caused by the same thing? That's what the author tries to prove through this book where he discusses his theory that the mitochondria in our brains are responsible for all forms of mental illness. The mitochondria might be producing too much or too little ATP, which causes our brains to develop symptoms that look like various conditions.
Review: I was very much intrigued and excited to read this book as I am a person living with schizoaffective disorder myself. Could metabolism in my brain really be the reason I experience the symptoms that I do? I'm not neuroscientist, but his theory comes across sound. It just makes sense. Overactive and under-active parts of the brain create various symptoms, we already know this. Brain scans of someone actively in psychosis look different than normal brain scans. So it all makes sense. I was disappointed that the book didn't include any novel treatments. The author basically argued that, for right now, all you can do is pair various treatments (everything from medication to yoga) until you find the right combination as no two people are the same.
Recommendation: A very interesting read if you have a decent understanding of biology. The author explains it well enough that you don't need to know much more than what is a mitochondria, so don't get scared away from reading it. This is a must read if an explanation is important to you, but not much help if you are looking for new and novel treatments.