Top Docs ’10 Profiles: Vernon M. Neppe
By Elizabeth M. Economou December 31, 1969
Vernon M. Neppe, M.D., Ph.D.
Specialties: Neuropsychiatry, behavioral neurology, psychopharmacology and neuropharmacology
Practice: Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute
Hospital affiliations: Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center
Medical degree: University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Explain the difference between psychopharmacology, neuropharmacology, neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology.
They are related yet different. Psychopharmacology involves the management of brain-influencing medications. Neuropharmacology is the actual workings of those drugs in the brain and nervous system. Neuropsychiatry involves the neurological aspects of psychiatry, and behavioral neurology includes the psychiatric and behavioral aspects of neurology. These have now been incorporated into one subspecialty by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. This subspecialty incorporates cases of possible seizures and psychiatry (“psychiatric epileptology”), difficult-to-treat psychiatric problems with possible brain malfunctions, conditions with both neurological and psychiatric elements such as headache and…depression, narcolepsy-like conditions, movement disorders and atypical states of consciousness.
What’s the biggest challenge in treating someone with a psychiatric disorder?
The voyage of hope. I like to give them realistic expectations that they can likely achieve. It must be realistic so the patient can trust and understand how they will improve and get better.
Originally published in July 2010
Follow Us
Barnes & Noble Is Coming Back to Downtown Seattle
The bookseller will open a new flagship at 520 Pike, marking the largest retail lease in downtown Seattle since 2020.
Barnes & Noble is returning to downtown Seattle for the first time since early 2020. The national bookseller has signed a 10-year lease for a new flagship at 520 Pike Street, a 29-story tower, taking over 17,538 square feet on the corner of Pike and 6th Avenue. The store is expected to open in the…
Le Petit Chef Makes a Big Splash in Seattle
The immersive, whimsical dining experience debuts at the Kimpton Palladian Hotel.
At a recent dinner, I sat across from a friend, smiling as a tiny orange-and-black butterfly landed on my empty plate. Just inches away, a small figure in chef whites and red boots strolled out of a greenhouse with a rake perched over his shoulder. He then proceeded to work a patch of dirt, plant…
A Citywide Toast to Sockeye
40 Seattle-area restaurants are teaming up for the fourth annual Bristol Bay Salmon Week.
Seattle’s fishing culture is something to be proud of. Drive over the Ballard Bridge on any given day and you’ll see the fleet docked below. The weathered, working boats stacked with gear, waiting for their next trip north, are striking, aren’t they? It’s hard, dangerous work, and there’s something so compelling and fierce about the…
Restaurant Roundup: Halal Bagels and Mario Party
Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.
OK, we’ll say it—we love Seattle Restaurant Week, but it also gives us a little bit of anxiety and a lot of FOMO. There are just so many choices. Hundreds of restaurants, food carts, cafes, and bars can be a tad overwhelming, but 10? That’s a much more manageable number. Thankfully, Secret Seattle put together…