Lewis Stanford Seiden (August 1, 1934 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

—July 26, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American pharmacologist and professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Early life and education

Seiden was born in Chicago on August 1, 1934, where he grew up in the South Shore neighborhood. After graduating from high school, he received a full scholarship to the

, where he had intended to study medicine. However, in 1950, when he was about to graduate from high school, he developed

dystonia Dystonia is a neurology, neurological Hyperkinesia, hyperkinetic Movement disorders, movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions occur involuntarily, resulting in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed po ...

; he resumed studies at the University of Chicago the following year after recovering. He continued to struggle with dystonia for the rest of his life. He received his A.B. from the University of Chicago in 1956, where he also received his S.B. in 1958 and his Ph.D. in 1962. After receiving his Ph.D., he did postdoctoral research in the lab of

Arvid Carlsson Arvid Carlsson (25 January 1923 – 29 June 2018) was a Swedish neuropharmacologist who is best known for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson's disease. For his work on dopamine, Carlsson was awarded the Nob ...

at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

for two years (1962–3), and then did another postdoc with Keith Killam from 1964 to 1965 at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Career

Seiden joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 1963 as a research associate, and returned as an instructor in 1965. He became a full professor there in 1977, and remained on the faculty there until he retired.

Research

Seiden was known for his work in

neuropharmacology Neuropharmacology is the study of how drugs affect function in the nervous system, and the neural mechanisms through which they influence behavior. There are two main branches of neuropharmacology: behavioral and molecular. Behavioral neuropharmac ...

and the effects of drugs on the brain, especially

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

. He also researched the effects of

ecstasy Ecstasy most often refers to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand o ...

on brain cells, research which influenced the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

to name it a schedule 1 drug.

Honors and awards

Seiden was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

. In 1999, he received an honorary doctorate in medicine from the University of Gothenburg. In 2002, he received the University of Chicago’s Gold Key Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seiden, Lewis Stanford 1934 births 2007 deaths American pharmacologists Neuropharmacologists University of Chicago faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Psychological Association University of Chicago alumni Scientists from Chicago People with dystonia