“Pharmed Out” Conference 2015
-Georgetown University in Washington, DC, will host the next "Pharmed Out" conference on June 11-12, 2015.
How Can Anyone Possibly Not Be Taking Abilify Anymore?
-Johanna Ryan writes about her efforts to avoid following psychiatrists' pressures to take antipsychotics for her depression.
“Adventures in Transcranial Direct-current Stimulation”
-Elif Batuman reviews the science and recounts his experiences with transcranial direct-current stimulation in The New Yorker.
How Blaming the Brain Can Help Create Self-empathy, New Approaches
-Amy Johnson writes about how neuroscientific perspectives on her psychological struggles have helped her feel more agency in her growth as a person.
BBC “All in the Mind” Podcast Resumes
-BBC psychologist Claudia Hammond discusses topics such as what psychology can tell us about how we decide to vote and portrayals of mental health in comedy.
Consumption of Psychiatric Drugs in UK Continues to Climb
-The Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry reports that antidepressant use in the UK has increased 7.5% since 2013, and over 500% since 1992.
“Is Science Really Better than Journalism at Self-correction?”
-A co-founder of Retraction Watch suggests editors of scientific and medical journals could learn some things from Rolling Stone about correcting errors.
“Making Theater Autism-Friendly”
-The Atlantic reports on the growth of "autism-friendly" movie theaters, sports arenas and now live theaters.
“The New York Times and the ADHD Epidemic”
-MIA Bloggers Jonathan Leo and Jeffrey Lacasse review the New York Times' history of reporting on ADHD and the ensuing epidemic of ADHD.
How Many Times Must a Frightened, Troubled Person Be Shot?
-Law student Renwei Chung discusses the current Supreme Court case looking at police shootings of people with disabilities.
What Role Can Video Games Play in Psychiatric Treatment?
-Psychiatry Advisor reviews the scientific evidence about using video games and virtual reality tools in psychiatric treatment.
Exactly How Do Gut Microbes Shape Human Behavior?
-University College London researchers review the primary physiological mechanisms by which gut microbes can influence the human brain.
How Biofeedback Works
-Counselor Tori Rodriguez discusses how biofeedback works, and what the research has shown about its efficacy.
Screening Pilots Didn’t Work, and Other Thoughts on the Germanwings Crash
-A selection of recent commentaries from around the web about the Germanwings plane crash...
“I Did Psychedelic First Aid at a Festival in Costa Rica”
-Eamon Armstrong describes the Zendo Project, and his own experience providing support for people taking psychedelic drugs.
What are the Dangers of Using Drugs for “Cognitive Enhancement”?
-Two neuroscientists call for "immediate action" to better understand the risks of using drugs like Ritalin and Provigil to "enhance" cognitive functions.
“Can We Replace Misleading Terms Like Mental Illness, Patient, and Schizophrenia?”
-Psychiatrist Allen Frances discusses his mixed feelings about many commonly used but misleading psychiatric terms.
“Do You Google Your Shrink?”
-"I knew my psychiatric practice was forever changed the day a patient arrived with a manila folder stuffed with printouts and announced that it contained the contents of a Google search that he had done on me."
“Being Mindful About Mindfulness”
-Two Harvard University psychologists discuss how to be a more "mindful" clinician.
“My Road to Hell was Paved with Xanax”
-Ashley Zlatopolsky writes about how receiving a benzodiazepine for anxiety led to a severe, problematic addiction.
How Problematic Assumptions Have Slowed Depression Research
-Belgian psychologist Eiko Fried argues that depression is not a discrete disease, but a cluster of independent symptoms that reinforce each other.
Don’t Blame their Brains for Teen Violence
-Pacific Standard examines the research into teenagers who commit violent crimes, and finds that their "brains" seem less to blame than their economic status.
One in Five Australian Families Tranquilize their Kids for Long Journeys
-Nearly one in five families in New South Wales, Australia admitted that they give tranquilizing drugs to their children during long road trips.
Psychiatrists Still Promoting Low-Serotonin Theory of Depression
-A psychiatrist asserts that psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies never promoted the idea that serotonin deficiencies could cause depression, and suggests that no one at Mad in America has evidence that they did.
“Is Science Broken?” — Report from the Debate
-A recent debate involving Neuroskeptic and other panelists with backgrounds in neuroscience and psychology asked if science's growing problems can be fixed.
