Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: dopamine

  • Arvid Carlsson (1923–2018)

    Arvid Carlsson, 2011. Photo by Volger on Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. In the world of science, the name of the Swedish physician scientist Arvid Carlsson is inextricably linked to that of dopamine. This catecholamine, consisting essentially of a benzene ring linked to an amine, was isolated as early as 1910, but had been largely ignored…

  • The Joker and his Frankenstein

    Snaiha Iyer Narayan India   The Joker & His Frankenstein, 14th September 2021. By Snaiha Iyer Narayan. In recent decades, cinematic portrayals of medical conditions have garnered variant review. The Joker has been an iconic film in popular culture in part because of its portrayal of mental illness and depiction of societal stereotypes. An often disregarded…

  • Surrealist art and the resolution of absurd

    Simon WeinPetach Tikvah, Israel Epigram “There must be a clear preoccupation with death—intimations of mortality . . . Tragic art, romantic art, etc., deals with the knowledge of death.” Mark Rothko, 1958, The Pratt Institute, on the function of art The Problem Fear of death permeates medical practice despite our best efforts to modulate serotonin,…