Evolving Psychiatry

Paul St-John Smith talks about substance abuse, the propensity for humans to seek out substances, and how an evolutionary perspective can help us understand substance use and abuse.   This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Substance Abuse and Evolution' by Paul St John-Smith and Riadh Abed. It is chapter 11 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Riadh Abed discusses eating disorders, the various evolutionary pressures which may lie behind tendencies towards them, and mismatches in modern environments which encourage them. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Eating Disorders', authored by Riadh Abed and Agnes Ayton. It is chapter 11 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt or Riadh Abed @RiadhAbed1

Matthew Large tackles the difficulty of predicting suicide, the reasons evolution couldn't solve the problem of suicide, and what this means in psychiatric practice. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'On the Randomness of Suicide: An Evolutionary, Clinical Call to Transcend Suicide Risk Assessment', authored by Cas Soper, Pablo Ocejo and Matthew Large. It is chapter 9 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Severi Luoto considers depression, its various forms and causes, and how we can subtype and understand them from an evolutionary perspective. He finishes on future connotations for prevention and treatment. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Evolutionary Perspectives on Depression' authored by Markus J. Rantala and Severi Luoto. It is chapter 8 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Severi Luoto @SeveriLuoto

Randolph Nesse's second interview covers anxiety of all kinds; why are humans so vulnerable to it, where it is helpful and harmful, and his experience treating patients with anxiety whilst informed by an evolutionary perspective.   This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Anxiety Disorders in Evolutionary Perspective', authored by Randolph Nesse. It is chapter 7 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.  The video form of this episode is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y98HdH2zsBA The book is available for purchase here:   via Cambridge University Press: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/evolutionary-psychiatry/2A1862AA7A2D78F946A34475D98425EB  via Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolutionary-Psychiatry-Current-Perspectives-Evolution/dp/1316516563/  You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Randolph Nesse @RandyNesse

Randolph Nesse considers why humans are so vulnerable to mental disorders of all kinds. Evolution hasn't shaped us to be happy, or healthy, and there are all sorts of reasons why our minds veer into the states we call disorder. He also notes the usefulness of this perspective for clinicians and patients. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Why Do Mental Disorders Persist? Evolutionary Foundations for Psychiatry', authored by Randolph Nesse. It is chapter 6 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Randolph Nesse @RandyNesse

Nikhil Chaudhary talks about hunter-gatherer life and aspects of ancestral and modern human societies which may differ and lead to mental disorder; and what lessons we may take away for prevention and intervention. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Hunter Gatherers, Mismatch and Mental Disorder', authored by Nikhil Chaudhary and Deniz Gul Salali. It is chapter 5 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt

Derek Tracy gives his second interview on hominin evolution, covering the aspects of homo sapiens which may have made us special in comparison to other human lineages, the evolutionary pressures which were most important, and how thinking about our evolutionary history helps him as a clinician.  This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Hominin evolution II: Sapiens, Masters of the Known Universe', authored by Derek Tracy. It is chapter 3 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press.  The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Derek Tracy on Twitter @DerekTracy1

Derek Tracy gives his first interview on hominin evolution, covering the variety of human species which cohabited Earth over the past few hundred thousand years, why homo and homo sapiens may be special, and the complexity of human evolution we are just uncovering. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'Hominin evolution I: the origins of Homo sapiens', authored by Derek Tracy. It is chapter 3 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt and Derek Tracy on Twitter @DerekTracy1

Adam talks about the biopsychosocial model of medicine and how evolutionary psychiatry offers to improve upon it. Evolutionary approaches can inform the biological, psychological and social approaches to mental health, and bring together disparate areas of research under an overarching theory. This episode is based on a chapter titled 'The Biopsychosocial Model Advanced by Evolutionary Theory', authored by Adam Hunt, Paul St-John Smith and Riadh Abed. It is chapter 2 in the book 'Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health", published by Cambridge University Press. The book is available for purchase here via CUP or on Amazon. You can follow Adam Hunt on Twitter @RealAdamHunt