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David Kahn discussed the fallacy of dualist thinking. The question about psychopathology is no longer of the relevance of exclusively biological or the psychosocial factors, but rather of their varying contributions and interactive effects. Biological markers such as neuroendocrine or sleep disturbances, once thought evidence for biological etiology, now are seen, often more correctly, as characteristic of states regardless of etiology. The model of kindling is presented as an example of research at the interface of mind and body. The clinical manifestations of mood disorders, which early in life appear related to stress, recur over time with increasing frequency and may eventually appear to be unrelated to life factors. In the experimental model of kindling, rats repeatedly exposed to sub-threshold chemical or electrical stimuli become sensitized and eventually develop seizures and other forms of neuroexcitability that occur spontaneously or with minimal provocation. The amygdala, which in humans is tied to the psycho-pathologically important limbic system, is particularly susceptible to kindling. (Probing this area in the human can produce psychotic hallucinatory experiences.) Researchers hypothesize that affective illness may be related to sensitizing early life trauma in combination with genetic vulnerability. Each stress predisposes the individual to more frequent and severe affective episodes; mild symptomatology becomes full blown. Implications for treatment are enormous; early intervention with psychotherapy and/or drugs may prevent the development of kindling and behavioral sensitization. Two references are recommended for further information: (1984), Conditioning, sensitization, and kindling: Implications for the course of affective illness, in and (Eds.), Neurobiology of Mood Disorders, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore/London, pp. 432-466; , , and (1988), Clinical and biochemical manifestations of