DBS AND OCD. A recent study has shown that deep brain stimulation can help severe cases of OCD, and has also given some indication of how it helps. The study combined DBS with imaging techniques that showed brain activity, so researchers could see how the stimulation changed acti... Read more

AUTISM 3X. The New York Times has run three recent articles on autism. One is a review of John Elder Robison's book Raising Cubby, about the experience of an autistic father raising an autistic son. A quote from the book "He was so difficult he reminded me of myself." A... Read more

THRIVING WITH DYSLEXIA. The Wall Street Journal has posted the story of a young woman who tested as gifted in preschool but ran into trouble when reading entered the curriculum. She was in a Manhattan private school, according to the story, and was "subtly asked to leave." It tur... Read more

EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPY is the topic of a recent article in The New York Times. According to the article, many counselors and clinicians fail to use therapies that are evidence based, as is cognitive-behavioral therapy, which has been shown to be effective in a range of disorders ... Read more

A new study shows that changes in only two genes may account for most psychiatric illnesses. PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESSES MAY INVOLVE CHANGES IN ONLY TWO GENES As most regular readers of Weekly Health Update know, I rarely discuss psychiatric research studies here, as most behavioral st... Read more