Would I Pull the Switch?

6/30/08. Not many psychological experiments are talked about 50 years after they have been completed. Stanley Milgram's studies on obedience fall into that rare class of studies that continue to disturb and rattle our view of human nature.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/research/01mind.html

Get Out of Your Own Way

6/29/08. Studies show the value of not overthinking a decision.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121450609076407973.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today

So What Is It About Jokes?

6/28/08. A man goes to the doctor and says, "Doctor my penis is burning." Doctor explains, "That means somebody is talking about your penis." So what is it about jokes?

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21616

http://www.city-journal.org/2008/bc0625sk.html

http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/story/the-science-of-humour

Practice Parameters for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

6/25/08. Many intelligent consumers are skeptical about the existence of ADHD, question whether those diagnosed with ADHD are over medicated, and even wonder if ADHD stems from children raised by permissive parents.

The prestigious American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists has written a guideline to answer the above questions and draws upon current standards of practice based on the latest research findings and treatment recommendations regarding the best treatments for ADHD:

"Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, 2007."

http://www.aacap.org/galleries/PracticeParameters/JAACAP_ADHD_2007.pdf

The Insanity Offense

6/14/08. Paul McHugh reviews E. Fuller Torrey's book "The Insanity Offense." Torrey provides an accurate history of how liberbals and conservatives got together --- for different reasons --- to empty out the state-run psychiatric hospitals that produced the homeless population, among other social disasters.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121341017433574441.html

The Pains of Memory

6/13/08. In this powerful article, psychiatrist Theodore Dalrymple talks about sharing the horrors of past experiences with others.

http://www.newenglishreview.org/print.cfm?pg=custpage&frm=21174&sec_id=21174

Troubled Children - A Series

6/13/08. The NYT presents articles on the complexities of psychiatric diagnoses and treatments for children and adolescents.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/troubledchildren/index.html

Compassion, Compulsion and the Mentally Ill

6/9/08. Psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey spells out the debacle of deinstitutionalization.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121297144756555917.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

A Doctor Finds Miracles in Medicine

6/6/07. Sherwin B. Nuland is a surgeon and professor of medicine at Yale University. He is the author of nine previous books, including the award winning "How We Die." His new book, reviewed below, is called "The Uncertain Art: Thoughts on a Life in Medicine."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/books/06book.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Clinic Treats Mental Illness by Enlisting the Family

6/4/08. Article in the NYT about treating a patient with bipolar disorder in family sessions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/nyregion/04clinic.html?ref=health

Put a Little Science in Your Life

6/2/08. Professor of physics at Columbia, Brian Greene is the author of "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos." In this New York Times Op-Ed piece, Professor Greene offers sage advice. He tells us that "Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding....reveals patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, (and) is one of the most precious of human experiences."

He notes that science tries to answer big questions:
"Where did the universe come from?
How did life originate?
How does the brain give rise to consciousness?...

We must embark on a cultural shift that places science in its rightful place alongside music, art, and literature as an indispensable part of what makes life worth living."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/opinion/01greene.html?em&ex=1212552000&en=b8d2f5a9a25f1d82&ei=5087%0A