When we talk about the brain, we often think of its connection to mind and what makes us human: thought, feeling, and memory. But equally important is its role in motion. How does the brain so effortlessly allow us to translate desire into movement? What happens when motion goes terribly wrong, such as in Huntington’s disease or Parkinson’s?
Neurologist Anne Buckingham Young has done us a great service in publishing her memoir, Disorderly Movements: A Neurologist’s Adventures in the Lab and Life, released in May by Cambridge University Press.
It offers a rare window into the development of neurology over the past 50 years, told through the eyes of a rebellious pioneer who, despite wrestling with dyslexia and bipolar disorder—as well as the pervasive shadow of sexism in science—became the first woman to chair a department at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard’s flagship teaching hospital.
Young’s scientific contributions are numerous. She identified receptors for the neurotransmitters GABA and glycine, revealing their role in movement. She devised a new form of neuroimaging to help scientists peer deeper into the living brain. She even played a role in discovering the genetic signature underlying Huntington’s disease.
Her memoir documents the unique thought processes and life experiences that gave rise to some of the discoveries that shaped our modern understanding of motion.
A Rebellious Tomboy
Before she was a neurologist, Anne Young was a rebellious tomboy with a flair for disruption. Her memoir opens along the banks of Lake Michigan in Illinois, where she was born and raised. Dyslexia complicated her relationship with academia—a surprising revelation, given that she would go on to earn both her MD and Ph.D. in neuropharmacology.
Her adolescence was marked by bouts of volcanic anger and depression that wouldn’t be diagnosed as bipolar disorder for decades. Yet, her bipolar was not without its gifts. In the book, she speculates that it may have fueled her manic bursts of productivity and creative drive.
Anecdotes scattered throughout the book illustrate her distinctive style of scientific reasoning—one that wove together sheer intelligence with an almost visceral ability to discern the underlying causes of movement. For instance, as a resident at UCSF, she diagnosed a rare brain tumor called a teratoma based on one-sided muscular development in a patient.
In another episode, her own medical insight may have saved her life. After sensing that an epidural during childbirth was dangerously high, she instructed doctors to test for paralysis with needles—which they did, immediately lowering the dose.
While in medical school, she met her husband, Jack Penney. Their relationship was both romantic and professional. They trained, published, and explored the brain together, first as professors at University of Michigan, and later at Harvard Medical School. She focused on Huntington’s; he on Parkinson’s.
The Mechanics of Movement
In 1970, while completing her joint MD-Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University, Young entered the emerging field of neuroreceptor studies. Her mentor, neuroscientist and psychiatrist Solomon Snyder, had pioneered a method for tagging neuroreceptors with radioactive substances—a technique that led to the discovery of the brain’s opiate and dopamine receptors.
Using similar methods, Young discovered receptors for GABA and glycine, two neurotransmitters that became central to understanding motor function.
Her collaboration with Jack Penney was equally foundational. Together, they demonstrated that glutamate was the primary neurotransmitter in the corticospinal tract and developed a novel imaging technique to visualize receptor damage. Tragically, her contribution to that discovery was allegedly minimized by a former collaborator from Snyder’s lab, Candace Pert.
Young also played a role in one of the most significant genetic discoveries of the 20th century: the identification of the CAG repeat gene linked to Huntington’s disease. She joined Nancy Wexler’s team in Venezuela to study afflicted families in remote villages.
These expeditions paved the way for genetic testing while raising profound ethical questions around privacy and screening. During one such trip, Anne and several team members nearly drowned in a sea storm of biblical proportions.
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During this period, Young’s research output was staggering. In 1989, she and Penney published a widely cited model of basal ganglia function, offering a unifying framework for their respective strengths: Huntington’s and Parkinson’s. This model became a cornerstone for therapeutic interventions.
The Gender Politics of Medicine
In 1991, Young was appointed chief of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. She became the first woman to lead a department at the hospital. Over the course of her 21-year tenure, she shifted focus from the mechanics of motion to the mechanics of institutional reform, challenging gender inequalities in medicine.
This portion of her memoir is strikingly candid. At the time, promotions often occurred in closed circles of male doctors, where women’s contributions were routinely sidelined unless they had powerful male patrons. Under Young’s leadership, the percentage of female full professors rose from 0 percent to more than 30 percent.
In 1999, she was rocked by personal tragedy: the sudden death of her husband Jack, at age 51, from a heart attack. She describes a descent into deep depression and substance abuse, ultimately leading to a brief hospitalization, urged by her former mentor, Solomon Snyder, among others.
Yet her scientific contributions did not end at Mass General. In 2001, she founded the Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MIND), a collaborative research hub that embodies her commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry.
She also served as president of both the American Neurological Association and the Society for Neuroscience, becoming the only person to hold both titles. She stepped down in 2012, seeking a quieter life with her second husband.
Disorderly Movements will resonate with diverse audiences. Researchers interested in brain science and its historical emergence will uncover essential insights. Readers navigating cognitive diversity and mental illness may be inspired by Young’s reflections on dyslexia and bipolar disorder. And those concerned with the gender dynamics of science will find much to contemplate.
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