WEST HARTFORD, Conn. —  An expert in eating disorders collapsed in a supermarket after inhaling propellant from whipped cream cans, according to police.

Lisa G. Berzins (search), a prominent psychologist who has been on national television and radio shows and in newspaper articles, was arrested on a warrant Friday charging her in the May 29 incident, The Hartford Courant reported.

Berzins, 49, has a practice in West Hartford. She has written and lectured on eating disorders, female development, sex roles and self-esteem, according a speaker's biography from the American Psychological Association.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, West Hartford police responded to the Farmington Avenue Stop & Shop and found Berzins lying on the floor and bleeding from her head. Berzins, the affidavit says, told police she did not know what happened.

Police interviewed witnesses and collected evidence, then determined that Berzins apparently inhaled from three cans of whipped cream containing nitrous oxide (search), known as laughing gas, the affidavit says.

Berzins was charged with possession of a restricted substance, criminal mischief and creating a public disturbance. She was released on $500 bail and is to appear in Hartford Superior Court on July 21.

"These are only allegations," said Bob Ludgin, Berzins' lawyer. "My client is innocent unless convicted. I have confidence that there will be no convictions."