The Manifestation of Migraine in Wagner's Ring Cycle
German Composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) wasn't the healthiest guy. He suffered from heart disease, skin disorders, acute infections, minor ailments, and most prominently, recurring headaches – the “main plague” of his life (Göbel et al., 2013). He complained of “Headache, ‘sick headache,’ ‘dyspepsia,’ ‘nervousness,’ melancholy, insomnia, indescribable suffering... Wagner had all of them all of the time” (Gould, 1903).Wagner wrote many letters to his doctor, Dr. Pusinelli, over a 35 year period (Gould, 1903): They begin with, "I have headache," and continue with complaints of bad weather an...
Source: The Neurocritic - December 14, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
men are map readers and women are intuitive, but bloggers are fast
Discussion at PubPeerADDENDUM (Dec 5 2013, 9:45PM)Brain scans prove there is no difference between male and female brainsWe don't have to "wire" our children's brains to reinforce gender stereotypesSo my mushy head is 'hardwired' for girly things, is it? If this is science, I am Richard DawkinsExtra, Extra! Scientists misunderstand own research! Study: Male, Female Brains Wired DifferentlyAbout that PNAS Article: Journalism and Neurosexism[Figure 1] is a fascinating example of a series of ontological, technological, and statistical translations leading to a 'wiring diagram', i.e. an ostensibly metaphoric image standing in ...
Source: The Neurocritic - December 5, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
The Phases of Shopping Addiction
The blight of Black Friday is upon us. What better time to look at a recent paper on compulsive shopping? Sohn and Choi (2013) adopted a qualitative approach and recruited a small group of Korean housewives with problematic shopping habits via consumer news websites. These nine women ranged in age from 28 to 40. The authors identified their target group as individuals with compulsive buying disorder, who reported a "preoccupation with shopping, pre-purchase tension or anxiety, and sense of relief following the purchase defined by Faber and O’Guinn (1992)." The participants all had high scores on the Faber and O’Guinn...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Confessions of a Prosocial Psychopath
Many neuroscientists have been howling about the media coverage surrounding a new book written by UC Irvine Professor Emeritus, Dr. James H. Fallon. This is because unbeknownst to himself for 58 years (or apparently to anyone else, for that matter), he was secretly a psychopath. How did he finally discover this? Did he complete the Psychopathy Checklist and score over 30?No.Instead, he diagnosed himself as a psychopath on the basis of his PET scan.Compared to a control brain (top), neuroscientist James Fallon’s brain (bottom) shows significantly decreased activity in areas of the frontal lobe linked to empathy and mora...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 25, 2013 Category: Neurologists Source Type: blogs
New Deep Brain Stimulation System Measures Neurotransmitter Release
In this study, the investigators will monitor extracellular neurotransmitter levels using a probe that is able to perform real time electrochemical detection during deep brain stimulation surgery. The overall question this study is designed to answer is: Are there neurotransmitters released during deep brain stimulation? Interestingly, the primary outcome measure is adenosine1 release recorded by WINCS, and the secondary outcome measure is dopamine release (pre-, during, and post-DBS, over a time frame of 30 min). Adenosine A2A antagonists may extend the duration of action of L-dopa, a primary treatment for PD. Preliminary...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Now Is That Gratitude?
We examined the effects of each moral sentiment measure (e.g. pride-proneness) on GM volume across the whole brain while using the other moral sentiment of equal valence (e.g. gratitude-proneness) as a covariate of no interest to control for effects of valence. We thus used two separate models to test for positive and negative emotions. All reported results were thus partial effects of one moral sentiment controlled for the adjusted effect of the equal-valence moral sentiment.The Value-related Moral Sentiment Task (VMST) consists of 180 descriptions of positive or negative interactions between a participant and their bes...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 9, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Ailurophobia (fear of cats) and the ability to sense their presence
Here's a leftover Halloween treat from American neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell (1829–1914).1 Mitchell was an illustrious physician known for discovering complex regional pain syndrome, coining the term "phantom limb", and prescribing the sexist "rest cure" (bed rest) for 19th century nervous maladies.2 His work on the treatment of neurasthenia and hysteria had an influence on Sigmund Freud, although the treatments were medical in nature and not psychoanalytic.In 1902, he consulted on a case of a young female patient who had an extreme fear of cats, and claimed she could always tell if one was nearby. Mitchell was skept...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 2, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Marie Laveau Conjures a Horde of Avenging Zombies
In American Horror Story: Coven, New Orleans Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau casts a spell to avenge the brutal lynching of an African American high school boy in 1961. She's calling up the undead.The zombie resurrection starts with one hand poking through the dirt, followed by the slow but steady emergence of a marauding horde. This may not be an entirely accurate scenario, however, since most cemeteries in New Orleans are above ground. The stone crypts and mausoleums are tourist attractions, with Marie Laveau's tomb being a particular favorite. The four white racists try in vain to dispense with the intruders, to no avail. Sil...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 31, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
A Tale of Two BRAINS: #BRAINI and DARPA's SUBNETS
Image credits. Left: SUBNETS program (DARPA). Right: BRAIN interim report presentation (NIH).In April, the White House announced the $100 million Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. The goals of this bold new research effort are to "revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury." A series of high-profile journal articles traced the genesis of this initiative from the Brain Activity Map idea to develop nanotechnologies and "image ev...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
DARPA allocates $70 million for improving deep brain stimulation technology
In what appears to be an exclusive story, the New York Times has reported that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will spend $70 million over the next 5 years to further develop and improve deep brain stimulation (DBS) techniques. This funding is part of President Obama's BRAIN Initiative.Agency Initiative Will Focus on Advancing Deep Brain StimulationBy JAMES GORMAN Published: October 24, 2013 . . .The federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as Darpa, announced Thursday that it intended to spend more than $70 million over five years to jump to the next level of brain implants, either b...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 25, 2013 Category: Neurologists Source Type: blogs
Blurred Lines: The Science Blogosphere and the Borasphere
Hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey Blurred Lines ------Robin Thickefull size image at ScienceBloggingHR.jpgOne depiction of the science blogosphere (~2010), by Brian ReidThis is a post about the neuroscience blogosphere. It exists as a loose entity separate from the infographic above. Oh, there are a few stray overlaps h...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 23, 2013 Category: Neurologists Source Type: blogs
Should a book chapter be republished as a peer-reviewed article with no attribution?
An entire book chapter from a popular science trade book has been published as an "Original Research Article" in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The article appears as part of a Research Topic on Alternative Models of Addiction in Frontiers in Addictive Disorders and Behavioral Dyscontrol, a specialty section within Frontiers in Psychiatry.I downloaded the provisional PDF and was initially tipped off by the curious citation style and copious use of footnotes, unlike the standard reference list seen in journal articles (e.g., APA format). I looked for a mention of the published book but could not find it anywhere. Perhaps this wil...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 20, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Existential Neuroscience: a field in search of meaning
This study is based on a different reaction to mortality salience, one that is derived from evolutionary psychology: the drive to reproduce. The heterosexual participants in the study viewed attractive opposite-sex faces and made decisions about whether they would like to meet them (a proxy for sexual desire) after being primed by death-related words (or not). Already, this seems like a bridge too far, but let us go on.Sixteen female and 16 male subjects participated in this fMRI experiment. They viewed a series of attractive faces (as judged by an independent group of participants) and decided, in separate blocks, if the ...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 12, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Preschool Programs Informed by Basic Research in Neuroplasticity... in 1966
David P. Weikart“Krech (1960), Rosenzweig (1964), Bennett (1964), and others have successfully identified and measured physiological changes in the brain that relate directly to early experiences in carefully controlled studies with laboratory rats.”-Weikart (1966), Preschool Programs: Preliminary FindingsIn his review of various approaches to early childhood education in the 1960s (e.g., Operation Head Start, Perry Preschool Project, etc.), psychologist David P. Weikart cited literature on neuroplasticity in adult rats (Weikart, 1966). Although written in the context of an early life “critical period” for le...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 6, 2013 Category: Neurologists Source Type: blogs
Now we know the brain is "neuroplastic"... in the 19th century
Until recently, scientists believed our brains were fixed, their circuits formed and finalised in childhood, or "hardwired". Now we know the brain is "neuroplastic", and not only can it change, but that it works by changing its structure in response to repeated mental experience.-Norman Doidge, M.D. (2013). Brain scans of porn addicts: what's wrong with this picture? Wow! I never knew that! You mean the brain can actually learn? And it changes with experience? Really?? Thank you, Norman Doidge, for that brilliant insight, and for many other gems in your wonderful Comment is Free piece on porn addiction in the Guardian.Let'...
Source: The Neurocritic - September 27, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
