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Summary
Summary
How should we define happiness? How happy are we supposed to be? Or can we be? Does each of us have a genetically determined "normal" level of happiness? Will a new breed of drugs allow us to fine-tune our moods so that we are happy most of the time? If so, are there any dangers to this kind of long-term mood alteration?
Fascinating research in a range of fields is providing provocative answers to these and many more questions about what makes us happy and how we can control our moods. We are in the midst of a revolution in the understanding of how our brains work and the neural circuitry of our moods and general temperament. At the same time, we have entered a bold new age of pharmacology'the science of drugs'which is allowing drug-makers to craft molecules that are exquisitely tailored to produce desired mood-altering effects.
In a lively and stimulating narrative, acclaimed science writer Stephen Braun takes readers to the frontlines of discovery in these areas and explores how this "brave new world" of mood manipulation will impact our lives. Based on extensive interviews with scientists at the forefront of research, as well as the compelling stories of many individuals and their personal experiences, The Science of Happiness presents an accessible, engaging, and balanced account of what we need to know as we enter this new era.
Braun introduces us to the scientists and companies who are racing to create the next generation of Prozac-like drugs, exploring the controversy surrounding so-called "designer drugs" and why such drugs are likely to be even more widely used.
He presents the idea of the happiness "set point"?the average level of happiness around which our daily mood fluctuates'and the respective roles played by our genes, our upbringing, and our daily life choices and experiences in determining our happiness profile. Introducing the provocative new field of Darwinian psychology, he explains why depression and anxiety can at times be necessary evils, providing important incentives for us to make changes in our lives that will improve our Darwinian fitness.
Braun also offers a stimulating and insightful consideration of how the alteration of our moods affects the "self" inside us. When we alter the mechanics of our moods, do we also fundamentally change ourselves? Or can we find a way to tailor our emotional lives while retaining what we consider to be the essence of who we are?
The Science of Happiness is an important and thoroughly engaging exploration of one of the most pressing issues facing society.
"Entertaining and Thorough."?Philadelphia Enquirer
"Braun has a knack for interpreting the findings of medical researchers and applying them to daily life."?Library Journal
"Braun manages to take abstract concepts and mold them into something highly readable. Science novices should find this book as enjoyable and well-written as those who have spent their lives working with biology or chemistry."?Publishers Weekly
Author Notes
Stephen Braun is the author of the critically acclaimed Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine, which was selected the best popular science book of 1997 by the American Medical Writers Association. He is also an award-winning writer and producer of documentaries on medical science and has written for the Boston Globe, Psychology Today, Science, and Icon.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This report on mood-altering drugs swings ambivalently between a critique of the pharmaceutical industry and euphoric pronouncements that "more perfect" antidepressants--safer, with fewer side effects--are just around the corner. Nonetheless, Braun's central thesis is straightforward: for some people, mood-altering pharmaceutical drugs, if used judiciously, can effectively restore emotional functioning and balance; andn that critics who harbor a general distrust of such drugs suffer from "pharmacological Calvinism." Readers who want a quick overview of the latest neuroscientific research into how antidepressants and mood-elevating drugs work need look no further. Braun, a medical journalist and documentary TV producer, tends to view antidepressants like Prozac as useful mood-sculpting tools akin to alcohol and caffeine (the subject of his previous book, Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine). Blasting "the drug company party line" that presents depression as a simple matter of out-of-balance brain chemicals, he sets forth cautionary case studies, meant to illustrate how dishonesty, manipulation and corporate greed can corrupt drug development, approval and marketing. Braun also takes exception to biological psychiatry's view of depression as a solely neurochemically-based disease; he advocates a holistic approach to mental illness that recognizes that "talk therapy" is a vitally important component of the battle against depression. The most interesting part of the book is the nuanced epilogue, which details in diary-like fashion Braun's own successful experience with a new drug, Celexa, after Prozac and Ritalin failed. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Does nature, or nurture, determine how happy we are? In a tantalizing but incomplete treatment, New England Research Institute executive producer Braun (Buzz, 1996) seeks a modern answer to this ancient question in the emerging sciences of neurophysiology and neuropharmacology. A ``happy pill'' that could banish sadness and depression might seem like a daydream, but could also be a nightmare: Writers have often worried that such a drug, like soma in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, might eradicate a fundamental part of what makes us human. The miracle mood drugs Braun describes here don't work that way, though. Instead, at their best, they can increase clarity of thought and help a person feel more alert and cheerful by elevating the ``set point,'' or average of one's moods throughout the day, which is largely controlled by one's genes. According to Braun, this chemical readjustment helps the user develop a slightly unrealistic optimism, a condition that seems integral to mental health, without altogether ending unhappiness: Mild and short-lived blue moods and sad feelings, he maintains, have survival value because they signal problems that must be overcome in order for anyone to attain well-being. Braun looks briefly into the components and adaptive role of depression, offers a quick glimpse into the profit-fueled process by which pharmaceutical companies develop drugs, and tells some horrifying stories of corruption in the drug industry. But he doesn't draw any adverse general conclusions about the pharmaceutical industry or its products, doesn't explore closely the relationship between drug companies and the medical profession, and doesn't even mention herbal or other alternatives to biochemical mood-enhancers. Chiefly valuable in raising some important issues, but disappointingly uncritical in discussing them. (3 b&w line drawings)
Booklist Review
Writing from a solid scientific basis and from personal experience, Braun asserts that happiness and unhappiness are natural conditions. Further, he argues that both happiness and depression have positive aspects: the former as a motivator, the latter as a warning. If attended to and acted on intelligently, both can help one lead a more productive and understanding life. "Learning can't be put in a pill," Braun says, for we learn from experience and the interpretation of it. Moreover, submerging feelings can lead to dangers as severe as those risked by the rare persons who feel no pain. Much is still unknown about the causes of happiness and depression, but he cautions against trusting drug company researchers' claims about the antidepressants and such that they discover. Seeking the highest profits possible, the pharmaceutical industry is unlikely to give either the medical profession or the lay public unbiased information, for financial interests can and do affect drug development. --William Beatty
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| Acknowledgments | p. xv |
| 1 Prozac: The Next Generation | p. 1 |
| 2 Set Point | p. 27 |
| 3 The Machinery of Mood | p. 55 |
| 4 Listening to Depression | p. 79 |
| 5 Selling Happiness | p. 109 |
| 6 Zen and the Art of Prozac | p. 135 |
| Epilogue | p. 161 |
| Notes | p. 182 |
| Index | p. 189 |
