Description: One cannot open a paper or a magazine these days (especially in the weekend “lifestyle” editions) without encountering one or more article extolling the virtues of one diet or another for weight loss, health, wellness, vim vigor or longevity. Often such articles are rather light on systematic science or, if they cite studies they… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Clinical Neuropsychology
Criminal Brains: Opportunties and ethical pitfalls of looking beyond minds
Description: Have you ever watched an episode of the TV show Criminal Minds which fictionally focusses on the activities of an FBI behavioral analysis unit that hunts psychopaths? In the show there are many discussions of the sorts of developmental histories that amplify some psychopathic behavioral tendencies and of the sorts of things that can… Read more »
Dopamine and Video Gaming: by Dilbert and Zimbu the Monkey
Description: As the Dilbert cartoon below suggests there has been much research and more speculation about the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in explaining the focused nature of many people’s interest in video or online games. The American Psychiatric Association considered adding a disorder called Internet Gaming Disorder the latest 5th edition of its Diagnostic… Read more »
A key to health, recovery, and combatting depression? Let the Sun Shine In!
Description: In Egypt, rates of clinical depression are highest in December and rates of mania are highest in June. Why might that be? ….“Sunlight on my shoulders makes me happy” to quote John Denver. A signature line in a kitschy song but is there some truth to it from a clinical perspective? What do you… Read more »
How to Make a 27-year-old Brain Look Like it is 46 or 67
Description: You do not often see serious neuroscience on the sports pages of a newspaper. The article linked below is just such an article. Why might it be in the sports pages? Well, start with the fact that there are significant reasons why neuroscientists were so keen to have a close-up look at the brain… Read more »
Younger Sibling Effects: A New Look at the Cerebellum
Description: When I am teaching about the brain in my introductory psychology classes and I talk about the cerebellum or “little brain” I (as psychology teachers and textbook authors have done for years) talk about the role that the cerebellum plays in “smoothing out” our motor movements and helping us be agile. That remains true… Read more »
What if We Could Turn Executive Function On and Off?
Description: Executive function or the process by which parts of your brain essentially tell other parts of your brain what to do, is a topic of intense interest as executive functioning, or [problems in executive functioning, may be related to a very broad range of issues from ADHD, to anxiety to OCD to name a… Read more »
How Biological and Neuro-chemically Driven are Addictions to Heroin and other Opioids? Welcome to Rat Park!
Description: What do you think you know about the addictive nature of opioid drugs like heroin or morphine? Have you heard that they can be addictive on first use? Have you heard that they work on the brain chemistry of all users to create a need for the drug or a dependency that is purely… Read more »
What are Echophenomena? (Think Yawning!)
Description: So what are echophenomena? Well if you don’t know, think about yawning. Have you noticed how it seems that when one person yawns the people around them will also yawn? Now it may be that they are ALL sleep deprived, bored, too warm etc. etc…. but, in fact it may simply be that yawns… Read more »
Moral Enhancements: Is ‘Fixing Criminals’ Viable and a Good Idea?
Description: Hypothetically, if there were a way to change the brains or the brain chemistry of criminals in order to ‘make them more moral’ would that be a good idea? Should we try it out? Maybe do not answer Yes or No to this question but, rather, think about what else you would like to… Read more »
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