Episode 12: The Cases That Changed Neuropsychiatry with Dr. Sheldon Benjamin

Mind Dive

Does a case from the 1940s of a man with no frontal lobe greatly impact what modern clinicians know about mental health treatment? When “old school” brain imaging found the patient now known as “JP” to be missing a severe amount of his frontal lobe, the neuropsychiatry case became the first of its kind in understanding how the physical components of the brain affect a patient’s psychiatric health. Named in the 2018 article, “Six Landmark Case Reports Essential for Neuropsychiatric Literacy”, by Dr. Sheldon Benjamin, the study of JP became crucial to modern neuropsychiatric understanding of the frontal lobe’s function.

On this episode of The Menninger Clinic’s Mind Dive Podcast, Dr. Benjamin joins hosts Dr. Kerry Horrell and Dr. Bob Boland to discuss his experience curating a collection of landmark cases in neuropsychiatry, now considered a valued resource in the field. Awarded with the UMass Chan Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Teaching as well as the ANPA’s Gary J. Tucker Lifetime Achievement Award in Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Benjamin is a professor of psychiatry and neurology and serves as Director of Neuropsychiatry and Vice Chair for Education at University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine.

“The reason this case is so important is that it shows, where we now have the brain pathology to back it up, that prefrontal damage can cause a permanent, lasting personality change and certain cognitive changes without affecting others,” said Dr. Benjamin. “It transformed the understanding of the prefrontal cortex’s role in child development.”

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Listen to Episode 11: Practicing Mental Health Care in the Age of Technology with Dr. John Luo

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Visit The Menninger Clinic website to learn more about The Menninger Clinic’s research and leadership role in mental health.