On this weekly excellent round up I especially liked: Placebo Has Strength in Numbers on Mind Hacks. The term 'placebo effect' is used to refer to two things in the medical literature. The first is a statistical concept and it refers to the improvement in patients given an inactive treatment in a drug trial in comparison to those given the actual drug. The second is a psychological concept and it refers to improvement due to expectancy and belief. The brain, caught between science and ideology on Research EU about differences between women and men's brain. experiments clearly show that self-esteem and the internalisation .....read more »

This week we had to treat a patient with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). He had a pacemaker. The cardiologist offered to be there during the first treatment to see how things were going with the pacemaker during ECT. Everything went just fine except for the astonishment of the cardiologist. He was flabbergasted about the ECT procedure. He never realized that his ideas and fantasies were far beyond reality. He still had "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" in his mind. Moreover, he now better understood the challenges faced during ECT. Heart rate and blood pressure can increase for a short while. This .....read more »

Welcome to the forty-seventh edition of Brain Blogging. In this round, we discuss whether science is in need of another cognitive revolution, how to reinforce our cognition, how reduced hippocampal neurogenesis correlates with depression, and other topics. Remember, we review the latest blogs related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective I especially liked: Hypnosis Explained (Debunking The Myths) at The Emotion Machine. I hope to take a short few minutes of your time to debunk some of these myths surrounding hypnosis and hopefully leave you with a clearer understanding of what .....read more »

This week, I've asked medical bloggers to reflect on the theme of "medical safety and technology." We all want to see safer hospitals and avoid medical errors. Advances in technology may allow us to practice safer medicine if we leverage it appropriately. Technology may also improve public health and safety. I especially liked: just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you by Other Things Amanzi it was during my psych rotation. i was trying to make the most of it and i occasionally almost got it right. one day our intern asked my colleague and i to accompany her .....read more »

A tribute to 100 years of special effects in movies Thanks BrightRelated posts: About To Have ECT? Fine, but Don’t Watch It in the Movies: The Sorry Portrayal of ECT in Film Psychiatry and movies: David Helfgott, Genius reborn Is Memory for Music Special? ..read more »