Who is neurodiverse? If you listen to the clinicians involved in brain scanning, the question is, “Who isn’t?” The definition of neurodiversity may come down to the line between, “how diverse?” and, “how much stigma?” Those of us who are diverse enough to lose... Read more →

I don’t think I’ve ever written that much about the workplace in the field of medicine. It’s something that has always bothered me at some level but I’ve come to accept as an inevitable evil that could not be changed. In medicine, everybody is your boss. It’s unlike any... Read more →

To my utter delight, at last there is a book that lashes out at the spectra of thinness and beauty that sets off millions of our young girls, on an obsessive path of starvation and self-punishment. Perfecting oneself has been mainly a matter of self-discipline and education for the most major part of... Read more →

We needed a truthful account of how cigarettes have become the highest selling addictive drug in the history of the human race, lawfully. Alan Brandt, Harvard Professor of History of Medicine and Science, and author of the recently published “The Cigarette Century - The Rise, Fall, and Deadly... Read more →

Welcome to the sixteenth edition of Brain Blogging — a semi-monthly blog carnival that aims to review posts “related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective.” Read more →  Read More →

I’m going out on a limb here but in many respects, a patient is not a consumer. Most of the changes in the medical system are based on the consumer model of healthcare. The problem with the consumer model is that medical service is not like buying a product from Wal-Mart. You can’t return... Read more →

Of the many ancient holistic medical systems that have withstood the test of time, Kampo is one of the more successful ones, particularly in Japan. In a nationwide study of Japanese mainstream medical practitioners performed in October 2000, 72 percent regularly used Kampo medicines. Today, nearly 150... Read more →

Medicare recently came out with its “Never Pay” guidelines. The presumed motivation is the exponentially rising cost of medical care over the years that payers cannot sustain. The largest payer in the world is the U.S. Government in the form of Medicare payments. In an effort to reduce costs,... Read more →

Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Brain Blogging — a semi-monthly blog carnival that aims to review posts “related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective.” Read more →  Read More →

A recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released articles dedicated to the study of conflict, human rights, and international mental health consequences. Some of the most striking papers dealt specifically with the psychological effects of war as well as the implications... Read more →

A researcher at the University of Buffalo’s Institute of Addictions won a five year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the role of “endocannabinoids” (the brain’s own marijuana) in combating stress and anxiety, an integral part of modern... Read more →