The distinguished psychiatrist Herbert Meltzer, a 1958 Cornell graduate, will present a University Lecture Oct. 23 at Cornell on the subject of "Molecules and the Mind: The Impact of Psychopharmacology on Self and Society." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is at 4:40 p.m. in 200 Baker Laboratory.
Meltzer, an authority on the treatment of the devastating illness schizophrenia, is the Bixler Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Vanderbilt Medical Center, Vanderbilt University.
"Herb Meltzer has devoted his life to a detailed study of biochemical actions in schizophrenia and depression," noted his close friend and colleague, Cornell chemistry Professor Roald Hoffmann, the Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor in Humane Letters, in his letter nominating Meltzer for the University Lecture series. "His work ranges from the molecular biology of receptors of the principal neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine), through clinical studies of antipsychotic drugs, to studies of suicide."
In his lecture, Meltzer said he will discuss how psychopharmacology "has informed us about brain and behavior, provided the basis for enormous improvement in treatment of mental illnesses and yet been a factor in myriad social problems (substance abuse, deinstitutionalization)." He said he also will discuss what can be expected in the future from the collaboration of academic scientists, industry and government on these issues.
The goal of Meltzer's Vanderbilt laboratory is to study the role of dopamine and serotonin in the etiology of schizophrenia and depression and the mechanism and action of antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs. Schizophrenia affects 1 out of 100 Americans, and about 1 in 10 sufferers commit suicide, and many more attempt to kill themselves.
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