Welcome to the thirtieth 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.” Please remember to submit your blog entries using the online... Read more →

Parkinson’s disease is the second commonest neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, affecting 1% of the over-65 population and 2% of the over-80’s. Recent research (1) published in Biological Psychiatry from the Institute of Biophysics, Academia Sinica in Beijing indicates that... Read more →

The U.S. Senate declared September 19th to be ADD Awareness Day. To celebrate, I’m going to lose my car keys. What a Shame About Me Perhaps the biggest problem with attention deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD or AD/HD or ADD/ADHD), is that superstitious and stereotyped social attitudes keep people... 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 →

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 →

The genetic basis for Alzheimer’s disease has been a focus of research in recent years, and the gene most studied so far has been the ApoE gene, which codes for apoprotein E, a blood protein concerned with the transport of lipids in blood. Specifically, ApoE is thought to be associated with the... Read more →

The human brain recognizes “patterns” as a natural way of looking at places and things. The feeling of deja vu is the result of such a pattern match; although we might not actually have been in a similar situation, the brain thinks it has, and produces a feeling of familiarity. New research... Read more →

Can the mind cure the mind, working on itself? Well, although the entire self-help psychology industry survives on an assumption that it does — with various techniques, young and old, aimed at self-therapy, scientific research on the subject is still in its early stage. Mindfulness meditation,... Read more →

A new study presented by the World Health Organization points to the international community’s efforts to curb interpersonal violence and its mental and physical consequences. This past week nearly 200 experts on violence prevention assembled in Scotland for “Milestones 2007,” a gathering... Read more →

The ancient Indian practice of yoga literally means to “bridge” the mind and the body, integrating it, aimed towards attaining a state of wholeness. Scientific studies have in the past demonstrated its psychological benefits, and improvements in quality of life studies. A new pilot study... Read more →

The conclusion of the WHO’s Global Forum for Community Mental Health in Geneva last month presented a consensus within the organization for the dissemination of a network of community mental health services among its member states. The Forum sought to address a increasing incidence of disorders... Read more →