Dr. Berlin examines the relationship between the brain and mind, with a focus on borderline personality disorder. She looks at the neurological basis of identity, taking apart the stigmas that are often attached to mental illness.
By understanding how disordered minds construct a sense of self, we can gain insight into the selves that each of us create through our choices and interactions with the world.
Dr. Heather Berlin is a cognitive neuroscientist, professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and visiting scholar at the NY Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oxford and Master of Public Health from Harvard University.
She explores the neural basis of impulsive and compulsive psychiatric disorders with the aim of developing novel treatments. Dr. Berlin is a committee member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange, and host of the PBS series "Science Goes to the Movies," and the Discovery Channel series "Superhuman Showdown." She co-wrote and stars in off-Broadway and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, "Off the Top," about the neuroscience of improvisation.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx