Jeffrey M. Schwartz

Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. is Associate Research Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine and a fellow with the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design. Dr. Schwartz is a seminal thinker and researcher in the field of self-directed neuroplasticity. He is the author of almost 100 scientific publications in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry, and several popular books. His major research interest over the past two decades has been brain imaging/functional neuroanatomy and cognitive-behavioral therapy, with a focus on the pathological mechanisms and psychological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Dr. Schwartz received an honors degree in philosophy from the University of Rochester, and in the 1970s began to immerse himself in Buddhist philosophy--in particular, the philosophy of mindfulness, or conscious awareness. This is the idea that the mind is an active participant in the world, and that when the actions of the mind have an effect on the workings of the brain. It became his goal to find a scientific underpinning for the belief that mindfulness affects how the brain works. In the 1990s, at UCLA, he made his key discovery: that a four-step cognitive behavioral therapy he pioneered is capable of changing the activity in a specific brain circuit of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, as shown on PET scans. After publishing his findings in scientific journals in the mid-1990s, Dr. Schwartz used his discovery--which is becoming a widely utilized treatment for OCD and has been corroborated by other research teams--as the basis for his best-selling book "Brain Lock," which leads readers thorough the four-step cognitive-behavioral therapy that he devised to treat OCD.

Dr. Schwartz's breakthrough in OCD provided the hard evidence that the mind can control the brain's chemistry. Dr. Schwartz's has lectured widely in the U.S., Europe and Asia to both professional and lay audiences. His most recent academic writing has been in the field of philosophy of mind, specifically on the role of volition in human neurobiology.

Related Books

The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz
Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior by Jeffrey M. Schwartz