INTRODUCTORY COMMENT (Donald F. Klein)

DONALD F. KLEIN’S INTRODUCTORY COMMENT ON MARTIN M. KATZ’S DEPRESSION AND DRUGS NEUROBEHAVIORAL STRUCTURE OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL STORM, POSTED ON AUGUST 8, 2013, IN BOOKS 

Martin Katz’ early entry into clinical psychopharmacology, his career at NIMH, his collaboration with Jim Maas in the ambitious National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Collaborative Psychobiology of Depression Program, followed by the Texas Study, provides the industrious background for this book.

Katz recognizes that therapeutic drug mechanisms remain unclear and that drug discovery efforts by pharmaceutical companies have stalled.  He believes that his collaborative studies provide a way out of these doldrums.

Katz states ,”In this book I describe the research approach, and the new findings that led to: (1) identifying the major  mood, cognitive, and behavioral components of the multifaceted depressed state ; (2) uncovering the dimensional structure of the disorder; (3) further elaboration of the psychological turmoil that defines the experiential state of depression; (4) proposing a new theory about its conflictual nature detailing the interaction of neurochemistry and behavior which comprise the state and ( 5) describing the impact of the antidepressant (AD) drugs on behavior and chemistry, that is, the drug- specific actions on behavior, and the onset and sequence of clinical actions that precede recovery"

This would be a remarkable accomplishment for a 92 page book.

However, attempting to comment on the book this reviewer found problematic because some of the text he could not understand clearly and some of the contents he didn’t agree with.    Since clarification that is not clear and exposition of disagreements is of general interest, it was agreed that instead of making one general comment, the reviewer will present a series of comments, in the form of 12 critical questions prompted by the book that would open up an interactive scientific discussion between the reviewer and the author. Such a discussion with the possible participation of INHN membership could get down to details and continue until each “critical question” clarified or interaction becomes unproductive   

 

Donald F. Klein

January 23, 2014