Dr. Max Fink Centennial Symposium-View Presentation

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The Max Fink Centennial Symposium at the American Psychiatric Association celebrated the significant contributions of Dr. Max Fink, who turned 100 on January 16th. Several distinguished speakers, including his long-term collaborators and mentees, gathered to discuss his influence on the field of psychiatry. Fink is known for his groundbreaking work in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), particularly his research demonstrating the central importance of seizures in its therapeutic effect. His career highlights include a pivotal study that showed insulin coma was not superior to chlorpromazine, helping to end the former practice. His extensive work with pharmaco EEG also illustrated the distinct EEG patterns produced by different psychoactive drugs, which was a pioneering effort to bridge understanding between brain activity and behavior.<br /><br />Fink's later career focused on the nosology of catatonia and melancholia, advocating for their clear distinction from schizophrenia, which was incorporated into DSM-V after his efforts. He influenced generations of psychiatrists and fostered a scholarly environment within academic psychiatry, contributing to multiple research projects and authoring extensive publications on ECT and psychiatric nosology.<br /><br />The Journal of ECT, founded by Fink as Convulsive Therapy, has been another of his lasting legacies, remaining the principal journal for clinical and scientific communications on ECT. In recent years, Max Fink continued to be involved in academic discussions, and those who knew him regarded him as a vital and influential mentor in psychiatry.

Keywords

Max Fink

Centennial Symposium

American Psychiatric Association

electroconvulsive therapy

ECT

psychiatry

insulin coma

chlorpromazine

pharmaco EEG

catatonia

melancholia

DSM-V

Journal of ECT