Richard Jed Wyatt (June 5, 1939 – 7 June 2002) was an American psychiatrist and

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

researcher.

Career and Research

Wyatt was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and graduated from Johns Hopkins University Medical School and joined the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH) in 1967, where he established a schizophrenia research program. In 1972 he became chief of the

neuropsychiatry Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...

branch at the NIH. He was one of the early pioneers who studied the biological basis of schizophrenia in the lab. His research led to the first evidence that

monoamine oxidase inhibitors Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of drugs that inhibit the activity of one or both monoamine oxidase enzymes: monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B). They are best known as effective antidepressants, espe ...

(MAOIs) suppressed

REM sleep Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep or REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals (including humans) and birds, characterized by random rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied by low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the s ...

and could treat

narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that impairs the ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles, and specifically impacts REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The symptoms of narcolepsy include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep-r ...

. He was a prolific writer, educator and teacher, having authored over 800 research articles and 6 books and he has trained many of today's leading

neuroscientists A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, neural circuits, and glia, and their behavioral, biological, and psychological roles in health and disease. ...

. The "Richard J. Wyatt Award" from the International Association for Early Intervention in Mental Health is named after him to honor his efforts regarding early interventions in schizophrenia. He was married to Rollyn Simon Wyatt and later to

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

and author Kay Redfield Jamison. He had three children. With Jamison he co-produced several films about manic depressive illness. Wyatt died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 7 June 2002 at the age of 63 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Jamison authored a 2009 book, ''Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir'', recounting her relationship with Wyatt and the process of grieving after his death.

Career and Research

References

Further reading