David,

I googled "Controlling your inner chimp." It was very interesting! I could benefit from counting to ten from time to time in an effort to help tame mine.

I have MS. During my hospital stays, my psychiatrist was fascinated by the relationship between emotional lability (sudden emotional displays d/t MS or another brain injury) and what could be considered an inability to control my inner chimp. He came to the conclusion that they co-exist.

My neurologist is of the mind that the medical community has a tendency to blame everything on MS (I agree), and my symptoms are likely due to bipolar disorder. However, I do have a large lesion in my frontal lobe.

Interesting point: About 10% of patients with MS also have bipolar disorder.