The long anticipated book SCULPTOR AND DESTROYER – Tales of Glutamate – the Brain’s Most Important Neurotransmitter written by myself, published by the MIT Press, and distributed by Penguin Random House will soon be released (August, 2023) and available at all major book outlets. The book can be preordered before its release.

In this episode I describe the roles of ‘sculptor’ glutamate in evolution, brain development, learning and memory, and energy allocation and metabolism. In the subsequent episode I preview the book’s coverage of the involvement of glutamate as a ‘destroyer’ of neuronal circuits and people’s lives in epilepsy, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders. I also talk about the central roles of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the actions of drugs of abuse, and of drugs used to treat neurological disorders. The second episode also includes a chapter that considers how people can influence their glutamatergic systems in ways that optimize brain performance and protect against neurological disorders.

Links to SCULPTOR AND DESTROYER:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048187/sculptor-and-destroyer/

https://www.amazon.com/Sculptor-Destroyer-Glutamatethe-Important-Neurotransmitter/dp/0262048183?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

SCULPTOR AND DESTROYER book preview part 1