Anything Causes Everything (Depressing)

Today’s classroom exercise: Decide whether the technique used in this study can be used to prove that any particular thing can cause any other particular thing: “Inflammation, Sanitation, and Consternation — Loss of Contact With Coevolved, Tolerogenic Microorganisms and the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Major Depression,” AUTHORS: Charles L. Raison, MD; Christopher A. Lowry, PhD; […]

Self-Treatments of ‘Writer’s Block’

The medical literature contains these two excessively brief accounts of self-treatment for the ailment known as “writer’s block”. Each can be downloaded in its entirety, in PDF form: 1. “The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of ‘Writer’s Block‘” Dennis Upper, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974 Fall; 7(3): 497. (Thanks to Eric Geigle for bringing […]

Alert: psych hair-pulling, spitting ahead

Psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists galore are in for a long period of hair-pulling, spitting, accusations, recriminations, name-calling and good old-fashioned spitefests. The proposed draft version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) just went online for comments. The DSM gets used in many ways. What’s included in the new version — and […]

Improbable Research