Jeffrey M. Schwartz is an American psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and researcher in the field of neuroplasticity and its application to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He is a proponent of mindâÂÂbody dualism and intelligent design.
Brain lock is a term coined by Schwartz to describe obsessive-compulsive behavior. His 1997 book Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior outlines the disorder and its treatment. In the book Schwartz claims that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a result of a bio-chemical imbalance that "locks" brain functions into an obsessive-compulsive pattern and that OCD can be self-treated by following four steps:
Schwartz served as consultant for the 2004 biographical film The Aviator, which depicts engineer and philanthropist Howard Hughes' struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Schwartz advised actor Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese on their portrayal of OCD.
Schwartz is a proponent of intelligent design, stating, "You can't get the intelligence out of nature. Intelligence is an intrinsic part of nature." In 2001, he signed the statement "A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism", which expressed skepticism about the ability of random mutations and natural selection to account for the complexity of life, and encourages careful examination of the evidence for "Darwinism", a term intelligent design proponents use to refer to evolution. He appeared in the controversial 2008 film .
Schwartz is an advocate for mind-body dualism, arguing that consciousness exists entirely separately from the brain. He provided neuroplasticity from therapy as evidence that "the mind can exert control over the brain, which [he believes] challenges the material concept of the mind". He also theorized that in sports, when an athlete focuses, they are "making a connection with something deep within nature itself, which lends itself to deepening our intelligence."
Other scientists have been critical of Schwartz's ideas. The Templeton Foundation rejected a grant proposed by him; the foundation's senior vice president, Charles L. Harper Jr., stated that the proposal "had to do with a lot of hocus-pocus on quantum mechanics".