Disorderly Movements. A Neurologist’s Adventures in the Lab and Life

• Recounts the remarkable history of a woman navigating the male-dominated field of clinical neuroscience in the 20th century to becoming the first female chair of neurology at Mass General Hospital
• Follows the work of Anne Buckingham Young, her husband and collaborator Jack Penney and geneticist Nancy Wexler in their hunt for the Huntingdon’s disease gene in Venezuela
• In a raw and honest portrayal, the author shares her experience of the sudden death of her husband and long-term research partner and how it forced her to face her own personal demons, coming to terms with a late diagnosis of bipolar disorder
• A journey of resilience and determination

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. A fascination with disorderly movements
2. Chemistry major at all women’s college
3. One of 10 women in a class of 114
4. Surviving the courses and clinical rotations
5. The car accident
6. Neurotransmitters, drugs and receptors
7. Training in disorderly movements
8. Setting up our labs and clinic
9. Neuros in the lagoon
10. Exploring the neurotransmitters of basal ganglia
11. Functional anatomy of basal ganglia disorders
12. The boat trip, April 4, 1985
13. Adventures in Peru
14. Being recruited
15. First woman chief at Mass General
16. Ground-breaking discovery: The HD gene
17. Scud missiles
18. Designing a new research center
19. Jack’s memorial service
20. Recovery after Jack’s death
21. The Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MIND)
22. Stepping down after 21 years
23. Hope for the future of disorderly movements
Index.