Genes, Memes, Culture, and Mental Illness

A range of therapeutic modalities, both broad-spectrum (meditation) and specific(cognitive-behavioral), for countering negative memes and their replication are considered, as are possibilities for memetic prevention strategies. Genes, Memes, Culture, and Mental Illness: Toward an Integrative Model Hoyle Leigh What produces mental illness: genes, environment, both, neither? The question has been asked in various forms, and answers debated, for many centuries. According to a groundbreaking new book, the answer can be found in memes—replicable units of information linking genes and environment in the memory and in culture—whose effects on individual brain development can be benign or toxic. The latest work from pioneering psychiatrist Hoyle Leigh, Genes, Memes, Culture, and Mental Illness reconceptualizes mental disorders as products of stressful gene x meme interactions, and introduces a biopsychosocial template for meme-based diagnosis and treatment. A range of therapeutic modalities, both broad-spectrum (e.g., meditation) and specific (e.g., cognitive-behavioral), for countering negative memes and their replication are considered, as are possibilities for memetic prevention strategies. With characteristic depth and accessibility, the author: Outlines the roles of genes and memes in the evolution of the human brain. Elucidates the creation, storage, and evolution of memes within individual brains. Examines culture as a carrier and supplier of memes to the individual. Examines the exchange of memes between the individual and surrounding culture. Proposes mental health as a democracy of memes within individual brains. Provides specific examples of gene x meme interactions that can result in anxiety, depression, and other disorders. Proposes a multiaxial gene x meme model…