Perils in obtaining a Ph.D.

I was struck by the recent article by Louis Menand in this issue’s Harvard Magazine. Essentially, for many academic fields the length of time to obtain a Ph.D. and the potential prospects for finding a tenure-track academic job is enough to make one who desires further academic inquiry to question whether the Ph.D. is the [...]

brain mapping disorders

An ever growing number of studies feature brain mapping to illustrate structural differences in the brain based on grouping those with and without a given disorder. Techniques such as structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can aid in researchers understanding of differences in shape and volume of various brain regions. Group differences are often found, yet [...]

Self-Control is important, and teachable to some extent

Self-control or behavioral disinhibition has been implicated in a number of psychiatric disorders, including Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It may be a mediating factor responsible for the lowered academic performance found among many children with ADHD.
The ability to inhibit responses may predict academic performance even better than IQ. This New Yorker article reviews studies of self-regulation [...]

One example of how animal research can help humans

Human and animal studies have found that brains go through substantial
synaptic pruning during childhood, removing approximately half of all synapses until puberty. While the pruning of synapses is a natural process, some researchers have theorized that schizophrenia arises from excessive pruning (Siekmeier & Hoffman, 2002). Presuming schizophrenia is a disorder of disruptions in neural connectivity [...]

Social Defeat may play a causal role in schizophrenia

Some ethnic minority groups have higher rates of schizophrenia than the general population. My first thought was that the differences were genetic. Current research has found a strong genetic component to schizophrenia, and given that different ethnic groups may have different rates of high risk genotypes, the genetic variation between groups may be in part [...]

Problems with the DSM

Professionals in psychiatry and clinical psychology rely heavily on the guidelines laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in order to make decisions about clients’ disorder status. This American Psychiatric Association publication was an intrepid attempt to create a comprehensive nosology of psychological problems. While reaching clinical consensus is of critical [...]

Gossip

Tobias Gibson once said, “Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about other people.” Well that may or may not be true, talking about other people may be adaptive. We all find ourselves engaging in this activity from time to time and it may not be all bad. This review of the psychology of [...]