At this moment, a trial is underway in India. This trial, named the TIPS trial, involves a new medication — a so-called “polypill” — which contains three antihypertensive drugs, a statin, and aspirin. Its researchers enthuse that it may cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by half in healthy people. So far, the study has shown that the side effects of this medication are minimal, or at least not any worse than those of any of the individual components alone. It’s also demonstrated small but significant reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol. The bigger question is: why do we think we really need this medication in the first place? Read more →

For nearly 200 years, the white coat has served as a symbol of the medical profession. Originally, the white coat was worn to symbolize hope and life — an absolute contrast to the black of death and mourning that was widespread at the time. Hospitals, and the physicians who worked in them, became places of hopefulness and healing, and the white coat embodied these sentiments.

As the medical profession evolved into a scientific discipline, the white coat began to represent the physician as a scientist. It also epitomized a feeling of cleanliness, and served as a barrier between the physician and his patient. Read more →

This post continues my discussion of free will and determinism in neuroscience. Due to the relatively brief nature of these posts, this discussion is incomplete. However, I hope it spurs additional discussion. I believe addressing free will and determinism allows us to understand the underlying theories and implications of neuroscience and social science research as well as the practical application of that research.

For this article, the main questions are: “Is behavior biologically determined?” and “Do humans have free will?” I will not address in this post the argument between compatibilism and incompatibilism. In response to comments and questions about my previous post, I thought it necessary to attempt to define free will before I write further posts on this general topic of free will and biological determinism in the neurosciences. Read more →

In the past few years, as addiction researchers have been mapping out the chemical alterations in the brain caused by alcohol, nicotine, methamphetamine, and other drugs, America’s most popular illegal drug has remained largely a scientific mystery. It is a drug that millions of Americans have been using regularly for years, and, from a clinical perspective, it remains the least studied illicit drug of all.

The most popular, and the least studied — not a prescription for rational decision making from a public health point of view. A variety of influences combined to force marijuana research off the table years ago, but the birth of “receptorology,” as molecular scientist Candace Pert once called it, and a more relaxed grip on federal funding has refueled the research. Read more →

It is estimated that 18% of women and 6% of men experience migraines. In fact, most medical visits for headache are due to migraine. Over a year ago, Dr. Larry Mccleary, former acting Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Denver Children’s Hospital, shed light on the neural theory of migraine causation. In response to this article, numerous readers showed interest in knowing more about migraines basics and how to deal with it from a biopsychosocial perspective. So, we at Brain Blogger sought answers from the premier headache expert, Dr. Roger K. Cady, from the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Missouri. Read more →

Welcome to the forty-fifth edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we discuss new trials using stem cells for stroke, the neurobiology of empathy, if brain tonics really work, the connection between obesity and mental illness, and many more topics.

Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective. You can check out our archive for past editions. Read more →