“New Psychiatric DNA Testing Is Unproven Ground”
NBC News reports that "Genetic tests to identify the most effective psychiatry drugs are the hot new thing in the race to create personalized treatments based on people's DNA.” An investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, however, found that these new tests are based on small studies conducted by device manufacturers, and those with financial conflicts on interest.
Thoughts on Meditation and the Neurophysiology of Consciousness
In NPR's Cosmos & Culture blog, philosopher Alva Noë discusses how we see colors, and uses it as an introduction to the efforts of...
Fluoxetine in Adolescence Raises Sensitivity to Stress in Adults
Research on neurochemicals associated with moods in mice and rats finds that, while less depression-like behavior was observed in those receiving fluoxetine (Prozac) administration...
Large Rigorous Study Debunks Popular Gene-Environment Theory of Depression
A large and rigorous meta-analysis fails to find support for the gene-environment interaction theory of depression.
“Sebastian Seung’s Quest to Map the Human Brain”
-A neuroscientist hopes to identify the exact place inside a brain where a particular memory is held.
Psychiatrists Raise Doubts on Brain Scan Studies
In a review article for this month’s American Journal of Psychiatry, Daniel Weinberger and Eugenia Radulescu from John Hopkins University push back against the overreliance on MRI scans in recent psychiatric studies. While acknowledging that they both have contributed to this type of research in the past, the authors warn that “findings” from these studies “pose a serious risk of misinforming our colleagues and our patients.”
This is the Fastest way to Calm Down
From TIME: A recent study suggests a neurological explanation for why deep breathing can be so effective in reducing stress and anxiety.
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What Meditation can do for us, and What it Can’t
In recent years, American scholars and thinkers have increasingly argued for the secularization and modernization of Buddhism, proposing meditation as a fully secular form...
German Psychologists Declare “the Drugs Don’t Work”
Jürgen Margraf and Silvia Schneider, both well-known psychologists at the University of Bochum in Germany, claim that psychotropic drugs are no solution to mental...
Scientists Fight Against the Myth of the Normal or Optimal Brain
A new study out of Yale University uses evolutionary biology to debunk the idea that there is a “normal” or “optimal” brain.
“What Can ‘Lived Experience’ Teach Neuroscientists?”
-Neuroskeptic critiques the premise of a journal article that declared that "neuroscientists who research mental health problems ought to listen to the views of people who have experienced those conditions."
Omega-3 Screening for Psychiatric Symptoms?
There is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet may be connected to a diverse array of psychiatric symptoms. In a new study published this month, psychiatrist Robert McNamara and Erik Messamore provide an overview of the evidence and call for screening of omega-3 deficiency in people experiencing symptoms associated with ADHD, depression, mood disorders, and psychosis.
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Can’t Directly Alter Brain Patterns, Researchers Find
Due to the thickness of the scalp and skull, transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) is incapable of targeting networks of neurons in the brain.
There is More to Mindfulness than the Brain
According to Lifshitz and Thompson, mindfulness is best understood as “complex orchestration of cognitive skills embodied in a particular social context.”
Experts Question the Benefits of Brain Imaging Research for OCD
Two experts—a leading neuroscientist studying OCD, and a psychiatrist specializing in OCD treatment—question whether expensive brain imaging research has added anything to the treatment of OCD.
United Nations Report Calls for Revolution in Mental Health Care
In a new report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Dainius Pūras, calls for a move away from the biomedical model and “excessive use of psychotropic medicines.”
Researcher Acknowledges His Mistakes in Understanding Schizophrenia
Sir Robin Murray, a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience in London, states that he ignored social factors that contribute to ‘schizophrenia’ for too long. He also reports that he neglected the negative effects antipsychotic medication has on the brain.
When Neurology Becomes Theology
In this piece for Nautilus, Robert A. Burton discusses how research into the essence of consciousness is more of a theological, religious exploration than a neurological...
Mental Health Concerns Not “Brain Disorders,” Say Researchers
The latest issue of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences features several prominent researchers arguing that mental health concerns are not “brain disorders.”
Free Online Course in Fundamentals of Neuroscience
Harvard University's HarvardX has posted a "Fundamentals of Neuroscience" online course for free public use. Lessons include video content, interactive content, virtual lab content,...
Philosophers Challenge Psychiatry and its Search for Mechanisms of Disorder
Attempting to locate the mechanisms of psychiatric disorder is a step in the wrong direction and fails to challenge potentially unjust social practices.
Childhood Maltreatment Alters Neurobiology of Emotion Perception and Regulation
Martin Teicher, noted researcher of the neurobiology of child abuse, finds in an MRI study of 265 maltreated 18-25 year-olds that "Maltreatment was associated...
No Brain Connectivity Differences Between Autism, ADHD, and “Typical Development”
Neuroscience researchers find no differences in brain connectivity between children with diagnoses of autism, ADHD, and those with no diagnoses.
Making Sense of Nonscience
Two opinion articles discuss the unscientific aspects of psychology and psychiatry, and posit ways for overcoming some of the conundrums... In Nature, a group...
Female Brains are More Active?
From Discover Magazine: Headlines in various news sources reporting on a new study claim that women's brains have been found to be more active than...
