Café Mythbusting: The neuroscience of mental health disorders

At a café in Kolkata, a gang of PhD dropouts talks about the neuroscience of mental health with their psychiatrist-friend.
By | Published on Oct 28, 2019

Trigger Warning: This narrative discusses forms of emotional abuse, professional harassment, mental health issues and suicides. In case you need support/relief, here’s a list of resources you can go through.

Argha Manna illustrates the genetic basis for neuropsychiatric disorders and the effect of environmental factors on them! A spat on Facebook led to an interesting discussion between four friends on mental health issues. The meandering conversation covers the possible genetic basis for a heightened risk of developing a mental health disorder, ranging from mitochondrial dysfunctions to epigenetics, and how science has just scratched the surface of this sensitive and multivariable issue.

Author Bio: Argha Manna is an illustrator and cartoonist. He runs an online platform, ‘Drawing History of Science’, where he blends his passion for science, history and comics, to carve a unique genre.


Editorial note: For more information, please look at the glossary here. References for the comic can be found here.

This piece is part of a series supported by India Alliance.

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9 responses to "Café Mythbusting: The neuroscience of mental health disorders"

    Amrit Bodani says:

    Want more.

    Surbhi says:

    Good illustration but tooo much for non science people if simplified will be all the more appealing

    Miyuru Chandradasa says:

    Very interesting!

    Dr B S Sidhu. Patiala says:

    Best IEC effort I have ever seen. This will be eye opener not only for general public but also for qualified mental health and other health professionals. Dr Bhaskar and his team has taken an initiative which was long required and this will clear the air of misunderstandings about mental health issues.👏👏👏

    Parijat Kundu says:

    Beautifully done…Awesome discussion. Next time when in kolkata, I want to join for another session. 🙂

    Amruth M says:

    Wonderful….complex realities may not be always explained in simplistic terms. Those who are serious about learning would advance by expanding their horizon of knowing, stretching their limits and exploring more terrains but may not wait for over simplistic.narratives to explain complex phenomenon…..so please go forward.

    zille anam says:

    superb and captivating!

    Laina says:

    Beautiful work. I tweeted this article, because it really speaks to the wonder I feel when I read about mental health and neuro-science.

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