227 posts · 161,511 views
Born in West Virginia in 1980, The Neurocritic embarked upon a roadtrip across America at the age of thirteen with his mother. She abandoned him when they reached San Francisco and The Neurocritic descended into a spiral of drug abuse and prostitution. At fifteen, The Neurocritic's psychiatrist encouraged him to start writing as a form of therapy.
The Neurocritic
227 posts
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- February 7, 2010
- 12:25 AM
- 551 views
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in the Scanner?
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Arrangement for psychotherapy fMRI studies using the couch of Sigmund Freud.[No not really, although the authors did stretch the implications of their findings in the Discussion...]Whether the proprietors of this blog want to admit it or not, neuropsychoanalysis appears to be a new field of study. What does psychoanalysis do to the brain? In a new Psychotherapy Research paper, Loughead et al. (2010) collected autobiographical relationship narratives from 16 healthy control participants free of a........ Read more »
Loughead, J., Luborsky, L., Weingarten, C., Krause, E., German, R., Kirk, D., & Gur, R. (2010) Brain activation during autobiographical relationship episode narratives: A core conflictual relationship theme approach. Psychotherapy Research, 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/10503300903470735
- January 19, 2010
- 05:48 AM
- 636 views
This aspirin is dictatorial, prosaic, and selfish
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Fig. 2 (Schaefer & Rotte, 2010). Example of a questionnaire used to form a semantic differential for one particular brand. Subjects had to rate the brands according to their relationships to 18 pairs of contrary adjectives.The nascent field of neuromarketing has grown tremendously in the last 5 years. Its goal is to use brain imaging techniques such as fMRI and EEG to gain hidden insights into consumer preferences. Commercial applications have far outstripped the peer-reviewed science necess........ Read more »
Schaefer, M., & Rotte, M. (2010) Combining a semantic differential with fMRI to investigate brands as cultural symbols. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsp055
- January 14, 2010
- 08:27 PM
- 503 views
It Wasn't Me, It Was Someone Else: Agency Error and Alien Hand
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
A sense of agency is the feeling that you're initiating and controlling your own movements. This can go awry in schizophrenia, when individuals can experience delusions of control (Lafargue & Franck, 2009). In this state, the patient feels as if external forces are performing actions against his will. Loss of agency also occurs in alien hand syndrome, a rare and unusual neurological disorder in which the affected patient loses volitional control of one hand, which develops "a mind of its own........ Read more »
Yomogida, Y., Sugiura, M., Sassa, Y., Wakusawa, K., Sekiguchi, A., Fukushima, A., Takeuchi, H., Horie, K., Sato, S., & Kawashima, R. (2009) The neural basis of agency: An fMRI study. NeuroImage. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.12.054
- January 7, 2010
- 06:11 AM
- 618 views
Roller Coasters Can Be Such A Headache
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Dodonpa roller coaster, 170 feet tall, 106.9 mph. Located in Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Japan.In case you didn't know, there's a reasonably sized literature on roller coaster headaches. An especially interesting case was reported by Fukutake and colleagues (2000) in Japan. A 24 year old woman frequently visited amusement parks, including Fuji-Q Highland -- home to 3 monster roller coasters (she rode each of them twice):One of these, the Fujiyama, is the world’s highest roller coaster at........ Read more »
Fukutake T, Mine S, Yamakami I, Yamaura A, & Hattori T. (2000) Roller coaster headache and subdural hematoma. Neurology, 54(1), 264. PMID: 10636168
Pfister, B., Chickola, L., & Smith, D. (2009) Head Motions While Riding Roller Coasters. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 30(4), 339-345. DOI: 10.1097/PAF.0b013e318187e0c9
- December 26, 2009
- 01:13 PM
- 972 views
Christmas Cheer from BMJ
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Fig 1 (Firth et al., 2009). X ray pictures can easily detect an ingested coin. Position of coin on lateral view (left), relative to anterior (right) or posterior picture affects size of image on film.Every year, BMJ has a special Christmas issue with spoof articles and silly studies. Today's feature examines the relationship between the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the value of coins swallowed by children (Firth et al., 2009):Main outcome measures Total value of coins ingested and number of ........ Read more »
Firth, P., Zheng, H., & Biller, J. (2009) Ingested foreign bodies and societal wealth: three year observational study of swallowed coins. BMJ, 339(dec04 1). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.b5066
- December 23, 2009
- 05:56 PM
- 574 views
It Seems Like I've Been Here Before
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Help me, somebody help meI wonder where I amEverything's Gone Green----New OrderEdward Wild begins his comprehensive review on déjà vu in neurology with a definition from the unorthodox1 Dr. Vernon Neppe:V M Neppe proposed a definition of déjà vu in 1983 as “any subjectively inappropriate impression of familiarity of a present experience with an undefined past”. The definition is precisely worded and provides useful insights into the phenomenon.The word “any” is intended to convey ae........ Read more »
KOVACS, N., AUER, T., BALAS, I., KARADI, K., ZAMBO, K., SCHWARCZ, A., KLIVENYI, P., JOKEIT, H., HORVATH, K., & NAGY, F. (2009) Neuroimaging and cognitive changes during déjà vu. Epilepsy , 14(1), 190-196. DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2008.08.017
- December 18, 2009
- 02:19 AM
- 699 views
Kittens in the Operating Room
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Facing a difficult surgery to remove that pesky medial sphenoid wing meningioma? Be sure your neurosurgeon looks at pictures of cute kittens and puppies before scrubbing up. Or so implies a goofy study by Sherman et al. (2009):Infantile physical morphology—marked by its “cuteness”—is thought to be a potent elicitor of caregiving, yet little is known about how cuteness may shape immediate behavior. To examine the function of cuteness and its role in caregiving, the authors tested whether ........ Read more »
Sherman, G., Haidt, J., & Coan, J. (2009) Viewing cute images increases behavioral carefulness. Emotion, 9(2), 282-286. DOI: 10.1037/a0014904
- December 16, 2009
- 02:40 AM
- 627 views
No More Drama
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
No more pain (no more pain)No more pain (no more pain)No drama (no more drama in my life, no ones gonna make me hurt again)No more in my lifeNo More Drama-----Mary J. BligeWomen who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cognitive impairments (Twamley et al., 2009), and alterations in brain activity when anticipating aversive or threatening events (Simmons et al., 2008).In a neuroimaging study, 15 women with IPV-related PTSD were co........ Read more »
SIMMONS, A., PAULUS, M., THORP, S., MATTHEWS, S., NORMAN, S., & STEIN, M. (2008) Functional Activation and Neural Networks in Women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to Intimate Partner Violence. Biological Psychiatry, 64(8), 681-690. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.027
TWAMLEY, E., ALLARD, C., THORP, S., NORMAN, S., HAMI CISSELL, S., HUGHES BERARDI, K., GRIMES, E., & STEIN, M. (2009) Cognitive impairment and functioning in PTSD related to intimate partner violence. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15(06), 879. DOI: 10.1017/S135561770999049X
- December 13, 2009
- 09:01 PM
- 603 views
Spindle Neurons in Elephants and Dolphins: Convergent Evolution in Large-Brained Mammals?
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Fig. 1 (Hakeem et al., 2009). Photomicrographs of VENs in the brain of the African elephant. A: VENs in frontoinsular cortex (area FI). Scale = 25 μm.Spindle neurons, or Von Economo neurons (VENs), are a unique type of large, bipolar neuron found in layers III and V in the anterior cingulate cortex and the frontoinsular cortex of humans. In 1999, Nimchinsky and colleagues discovered that among the 28 nonhuman primate species they examined, only great apes had VENs (see Spindle Neurons: The Nex........ Read more »
Butti, C., Sherwood, C., Hakeem, A., Allman, J., & Hof, P. (2009) Total number and volume of Von Economo neurons in the cerebral cortex of cetaceans. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 515(2), 243-259. DOI: 10.1002/cne.22055
Hakeem, A., Sherwood, C., Bonar, C., Butti, C., Hof, P., & Allman, J. (2009) Von Economo Neurons in the Elephant Brain. The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology, 292(2), 242-248. DOI: 10.1002/ar.20829
- December 8, 2009
- 05:07 AM
- 597 views
The Horror of Dide-Botcazo Syndrome
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
At least it sounds pretty horrible...Dide-Botcazo Syndrome, or "top of the basilar" syndrome, is a rare clinical condition caused by bilateral occlusion of the posterior cerebral arteries (labelled below in red).The arteries of the base of the brain.A case report by Cappellari et al., 2009 describes a 72 year old man who had a major stroke affecting the territories of both posterior cerebral arteries, resulting in damage to L and R occipital cortex, R thalamus, and R medial temporal lobe (see be........ Read more »
Cappellari, M., Tomelleri, G., Matteo, A., Carletti, M., Magalini, A., Bovi, P., & Moretto, G. (2009) Dide-Botcazo syndrome due to bilateral occlusion of posterior cerebral artery. Neurological Sciences. DOI: 10.1007/s10072-009-0179-7
- December 5, 2009
- 06:08 PM
- 842 views
Impaired Cognitive Empathy in Bipolar Disorder and in Patients with Ventromedial Prefrontal Lesions
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Cognitive empathy, or the ability to take another person's perspective, is closely related to (or even synonymous with) theory of mind,...the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own.On the other hand, emotional or affective empathy is "emotional contagion" - the ability to mirror an emotional response observed in another........ Read more »
Shamay-Tsoory, S., Aharon-Peretz, J., & Perry, D. (2009) Two systems for empathy: a double dissociation between emotional and cognitive empathy in inferior frontal gyrus versus ventromedial prefrontal lesions. Brain, 132(3), 617-627. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awn279
Shamay-Tsoory, S., Harari, H., Szepsenwol, O., & Levkovitz, Y. (2009) Neuropsychological Evidence of Impaired Cognitive Empathy in Euthymic Bipolar Disorder. Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 21(1), 59-67. DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21.1.59
- November 29, 2009
- 09:13 PM
- 714 views
Noxious mystery substance released into the third ventricle is the cause of depression!
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
The Ventricles of the Brain (Ross & Wilson)You can always count on the journal Medical Hypotheses (published by Elsevier) for a good laugh. The Editor-in-Chief (Bruce G. Charlton) accepts all sorts of completely speculative crackpot articles. Who can forget the classic, Is there an association between the use of heeled footwear and schizophrenia? [see The Journal of Truly, Truly Outrageous Medical Hypotheses.] Or the crowd favorite, Ejaculation as a potential treatment of nasal congestion in........ Read more »
Hendrie, C., & Pickles, A. (2009) Depression as an evolutionary adaptation: Anatomical organisation around the third ventricle. Medical Hypotheses. DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.10.026
- November 27, 2009
- 04:24 PM
- 1,074 views
Does "Internet Addiction" Really Shrink Your Brain?
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Internet addiction is a murky and controversial disorder that is the subject of intense debate over whether it should be included in the new DSM-V. Here are the proposed diagnostic criteria as developed by Dr. Kimberly Young:Do you feel preoccupied with the Internet (think about previous online activity or anticipate next online session)?Do you feel the need to use the Internet with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction?Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to contr........ Read more »
Zhou, Y., Lin, F., Du, Y., Qin, L., Zhao, Z., Xu, J., & Lei, H. (2009) Gray matter abnormalities in Internet addiction: A voxel-based morphometry study. European Journal of Radiology. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.10.025
- November 22, 2009
- 04:13 PM
- 654 views
The Extrastriate Body Area and Visual Distortions in Anorexia
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Contour Drawing Rating Scale (Thompson & Gray, 1995) - established as a reliable and valid measure of body size perception.Anorexia nervosa, an obsessive and unrelenting quest for thinness, is one of the most deadly psychiatric disorders. The documented mortality rate ranges from 3.3% to 18% in different studies (Herzog et al., 2000), and those with the disorder are ten times more likely to die from their illness than a comparable healthy population. A severe distortion of body image is a ca........ Read more »
Suchan, B., Busch, M., Schulte, D., Grönermeyer, D., Herpertz, S., & Vocks, S. (2010) Reduction of gray matter density in the extrastriate body area in women with anorexia nervosa. Behavioural Brain Research, 206(1), 63-67. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.08.035
- November 20, 2009
- 08:01 AM
- 628 views
Bleed It Out
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
I've opened up these scarsI'll make you face thisI pulled myself so farI'll make you, face, this, now!---Linkin ParkDeliberate self-harm, or self-injury, is becoming increasingly recognized as a problem affecting adolescents and young adults. Rates are difficult to determine, as the behaviors are often concealed. One recent study tracked a group of 1400 Midwestern US high school students over a 5 year period (Muehlenkamp et al., 2009). Rates of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) over 2001-205 were ........ Read more »
Kraus, A., Valerius, G., Seifritz, E., Ruf, M., Bremner, J., Bohus, M., & Schmahl, C. (2009) Script-driven imagery of self-injurious behavior in patients with borderline personality disorder: a pilot FMRI study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01417.x
- November 18, 2009
- 04:31 AM
- 590 views
Good News/Bad News Update on Nucleus Accumbens DBS for Treatment-Resistant Depression
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Taken from Fig. 1 (Bewernick et al., 2009). Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (PDF) over time.Two and a half years ago, The Neurocritic wrote about the very early results of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the nucleus accumbens for severe, refractory depression. You can read about the details of the procedure and its scientific motivation here:More About the Nucleus AccumbensNAcc Localization for DBSBriefly, the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is considered one of the brain's PLEASURE CENTRES:When the ........ Read more »
Bewernick, B., Hurlemann, R., Matusch, A., Kayser, S., Grubert, C., Hadrysiewicz, B., Axmacher, N., Lemke, M., Cooper-Mahkorn, D., & Cohen, M. (2009) Nucleus Accumbens Deep Brain Stimulation Decreases Ratings of Depression and Anxiety in Treatment-Resistant Depression. Biological Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.013
- November 15, 2009
- 12:19 AM
- 749 views
I Feel Your Pain, I REALLY Do: Synaesthesia for Another's Pain
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
"I feel your pain"Empathy for another person's pain is a hot topic of study in the glamorous field of social cognitive neuroscience. The capacity for empathy supposedly involves mirror neurons, those media darlings of The Young, [The Not-So-Young], and The Neuro:A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting.These magi........ Read more »
Fitzgibbon, B., Giummarra, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Enticott, P., & Bradshaw, J. (2009) Shared pain: From empathy to synaesthesia. Neuroscience . DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.10.007
- November 8, 2009
- 06:06 PM
- 555 views
Genomarketing!
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
You've heard of Neuromarketing, which measures the neural activity of consumers (via fMRI or EEG) in response to various products or advertisements. Now, get ready for Genomarketing! The Neuroethics & Law Blog has alerted us to a recent paper by De Neve and Fowler (2009) reporting that people with a specific low efficiency variant of the gene for monoamine oxidase A are significantly more likely to have credit card debt. Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) is an enzyme that breaks down the monoamine........ Read more »
Beaver, K., & Holtfreter, K. (2009) Biosocial Influences on Fraudulent Behaviors. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170(2), 101-114. DOI: 10.3200/GNTP.170.2.101-114
- October 31, 2009
- 11:17 PM
- 605 views
Werewolves of London, Ontario
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
An American Werewolf in LondonIn the last post, we learned about the Psychopharmacology of Lycanthropy (and "endogenous lycanthropogens") from the April 1, 1992 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Davis et al., 1992). In a more serious review on clinical lycanthropy in the British Journal of Psychiatry Coll, O'Sullivan, and Browne (1985; PDF) began by stating:Lycanthropy is the delusion in which an individual believes he has been transformed into an animal, traditionally a wolf. D........ Read more »
Garlipp, P., Gödecke-Koch, T., Dietrich, D., & Haltenhof, H. (2004) Lycanthropy - psychopathological and psychodynamical aspects. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 109(1), 19-22. DOI: 10.1046/j.1600-0447.2003.00243.x
- October 26, 2009
- 06:37 AM
- 725 views
Unusual Changes in Sexuality: Case Studies in Neurology
by The Neurocritic in The Neurocritic
Fig. 1 (Currier et al., 1971). Scalp EEG showing sharp wave activity from left anterior temporal region.In the last post we learned a bit about hypergraphia, a compulsion to write that sometimes occurs in those with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). According to the late behavioral neurologist Norman Geschwind (reprinted in 2009; also see Devinsky & Schachter, 2009), hypergraphia is one in a cluster of interictal [between seizure] personality traits in some TLE patients1 which can also include ........ Read more »
Ball, J. (1968) A CASE OF HAIR FETISHISM, TRANSVESTITISM, AND ORGANIC CEREBRAL DISORDER. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 44(3), 249-254. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1968.tb07511.x
Jawad, S., Sidebothams, C., Sequira, R., & Jamil, N. (2009) Altered Sexual Orientation Following Dominant Hemisphere Infract [sic]. Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 21(3), 353-354. DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21.3.353
Lesniak, R., Szymusik, A., & Chrzanowski, R. (1972) Multidirectional disorders of sexual drive in a case of brain tumour. Forensic Science, 1(3), 333-338. DOI: 10.1016/0300-9432(72)90031-3
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