Neurological Correlates

Epigenetics - the long arm reaches out for generations.

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The recovering alcoholics in my life sometimes act like they’re from Jupiter. (Everyone seems to be a recovering something these days. . . ) Their default position is negative attributional bias -they constantly are attacking based on presumed negative intention of others. They then confabulate to back fill facts to match their [...]

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How could I have missed this? Here’s a brief review of Portfolio.com May 2008 “neurotech” articles and graphics.

Starting with the graphic (click to go to the article) - it’s pretty telling: the two “neurotech” areas most associated with “character flaws” are the lowest revenue business areas — obesity and addition. (Graphic is modified to [...]

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I’ve been suspicious that most behavior is going to be non-Mendelian as far as genetic influences, (see here and here, and here for example) so here’s another study - this one by Philibert et al. - reporting that methylation dials down a gene linked to behavior — in women who smoke and drink. The [...]

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The anti-smoking drug Chantix is in the news for having significant side-effects — which brings up a conundrum: which is worse, the drug or the addiction?
New research shows the nature and the environment: (a) some people are clearly genetically loaded to smoke; and (b)  when people quit, they quit in groups of three.
Which brings up [...]

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Studies Cite Head Injuries As Factor in Some Social Ills - WSJ.com

The Wall Street Journal(subscription required for most, but not this) has an article saying that brain injuries are way more common, and account for way more problems, than we appreciate.  (See the video either on [...]

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Or, how do you pick customers unlikely to sue you? At least with doctors, there is now a paper:
What patient attributes are associated with thoughts of suing a physician? Fishbain, et al., Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2007 May;88(5):589-96 (full abstract after the jump).

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Screenshots of (top) on-line gaming, and (bottom) on-line stock trading

J Gambl Stud. 2007 Mar 30; [Epub ahead of print]

Dopamine Genes and Pathological Gambling in Discordant Sib-Pairs.
Sabbatini da Silva Lobo D, Vallada HP, Knight J, Martins SS, Tavares H, Gentil V, Kennedy JL.
Laboratory of Medical Investigation (LIM-23)—Psychopharmacology, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, [...]

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