Brain Hacking: The new science of curing mental illness

by Amy Ellis Nutt

In her writing for The Washington Post, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Amy Ellis Nutt reveals the newest findings and the latest tools as scientists try to unravel the mysteries of what’s been called the most complex object in the universe: the human brain.

Her "Brain Hacking" project, which we present here, looks at a few of the most innovative approaches researchers are taking to combat the worldwide scourge of mental illness. From transcranial magnetic stimulation and near-infrared light therapy for depression, to the use of a common antibiotic for the obsessive compulsive disorder, these stories explore the scientists – and the patients — who are pushing beyond the boundaries of psychiatry and neuroscience to find new ways to help our mental health.

Genres: Nonfiction

49 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2016

About the author

Amy Ellis Nutt won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for her feature series “The Wreck of the Lady Mary,” about the 2009 sinking of a fishing boat off the New Jersey coast. She is a health and science writer at The Washington Post, the author of Shadows Bright as Glass, and the co-author of the New York Times bestseller The Teenage Brain. She was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University, a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton, and an instructor of journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short piece is a fascinating look at the way researchers are identifying the biological problems underlying mental disorders such as depression or OCD and finding non-invasive ways to correct those problems. These groundbreaking techniques have the potential to help millions of people in ways more effective than those already at our disposal. Furthermore, reading between the lines reveals that success with these specific treatments (for example, infrared light therapy or non-standard use of antibiotics) could lead to more creative ways to remedy medical problems with the brain.

[Sallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read, but definitely interesting, especially for people in the field or with loved ones affected by mental illness.