The brains of chronic pain patients fail to maintain the state of “activity equilibrium” seen in healthy patients. New research has demonstrated that a key emotional control center in the frontal lobe remains active constantly in chronic pain, while in pain-free patients it shuts down in order for other areas of the brain to function adequately. Read more →

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is an imaging technique that is currently being used before resective surgery in pediatric epilepsy patients to determine whether or not surgery is necessary and if the surgery will be successful. Before this technique was implemented, doctors had to rely on symptoms caused by seizures and traditional techniques that did not provide sufficient information about the success or possible long-term, adverse effects of resective surgery. Read more →

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an important imaging technique used in the medical field to diagnose many diseases and detect abnormalities in the human body non-invasively. In the neurological sense, an MRI is often performed to obtain an inner image of the brain if unusual activity is suspected. For example in the case of multiple sclerosis (MS), abnormal spots called lesions can be detected with an MRI before clinical symptoms occur. Read more →

A few days ago a friend mentioned to me that I should take a peek at a certain video that had been published on the University of California’s website. I found it quite fascinating and appropriate to our theme of biopsychosocial science. The video chronicles an event titled “The Launching of the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind” and was recorded in November of 2005. It presents a sophisticated and increasingly popular theory supporting the merging of psychology, social science, neurobiology and neuroimaging as an approach for studying human behavior. Read more →

“How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” Shakespeare’s arguably depressed and suicidal Prince Hamlet uttered those words to himself almost five centuries ago. But what if he had confessed them in his doctor’s office today, how would his mood disorder be approached?

Well, in my dream the Prince’s family physician would issue a covered referral to a psychiatrist who would begin by pulling out her “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)” and asking if he has suffered at least three symptoms from a list that includes, but is not limited to diminished appetite, disturbed sleep, pessimistic thoughts, loss of weight, feelings of worthlessness and decreased sex drive. Read more →