Making Gut Decisions Posted on January 14, 2008 F. Xavier Castellanos (bio) advises listening to natural responses when making decisions.

I subscribe to the Damasio theory of decision-making in the sense that we make all important decisions with our gut in the sense that parts of the brain that are connected to the gut seem to be those that are critical for that.

I guess the best example of this is that when I was finishing medical school, I was really tormented by trying to decide what kind of residency program to go into. I had a pile of applications and brochures that was at least three feet high next to my desk from all kinds of different programs: pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine. I think almost none from psychiatry; I really wasn't looking at that, although I had interests in child psychiatry. But it didn't really fit.

Then I found out that there was a brand new program just starting out that year that combined pediatrics, child psychiatry, and general psychiatry. There are only six places in the country that offer that program, and within 24 hours I'd applied to those and had a choice in a couple of them to attend. And I wound up going to the University of Kentucky.

So, similarly, once I'd decided to look for research training, there were opportunities that were just available, and I think any of them would've been really quite good. But the one at the NIMH just seemed right. And that turned out probably to be the wisest decision I've ever made. The mentoring support that I got there was just amazing and has given me a life, a career.

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