Revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
I am following the revision process of the DSM-V from my past blog posts. The New York Times 
published an article about the Revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition which is slated for publication in 2013. It has been over a decade since the manual was revised.
These are a few of the changes proposed by doctors charged with revising psychiatry’s encyclopedia of mental disorders, the guidebook that largely determines where society draws the line between normal and not normal, between eccentricity and illness, between self-indulgence and self-destruction — and, by extension, when and how patients should be treated.
Far fewer children would get a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. “Binge eating disorder” and “hypersexuality” might become part of the everyday language. (think sex rehabilitation - Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, David Letterman, David Duchovny) And the way many mental disorders are diagnosed and treated would be sharply revised.
For months they have been the subject of intense speculation and lobbying by advocacy groups, and some proposed changes have already been widely discussed — including folding the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome into a broader category, autism spectrum disorder.
But others, including a proposed alternative for bipolar disorder in many children, were recently released. Experts said the recommendations, posted online at DSM5.org for public comment, could bring rapid change in several areas.
The article states:
One significant change would be adding a childhood disorder called temper dysregulation disorder with dysphoria, a recommendation that grew out of recent findings that many wildly aggressive, irritable children who have been given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder do not have it. Temper dysregulation disorder with dysphoria is a syndrome that in recent years has been labeled childhood bipolar disorder and is actually NOT bipolar disorder. Instead, a new disorder category was created: Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria (TDD).
Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD contributes to significant political debate in the media and the blogosphere in his blog.
The misdiagnosis led many children to be given powerful antipsychotic drugs, which have serious side effects, including metabolic changes. Antipsychotic drugs are a class of medicines used to treat psychosis and other mental and emotional conditions.
Some diagnoses of bipolar disorder have been in children as young as 2, and there have been widespread reports that doctors promoting the diagnosis received consulting and speaking fees from the makers of the drugs.
Experts gave the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the manual, predictably mixed reviews. Some were relieved that the task force working on the manual — which includes neurologists and psychologists as well as psychiatrists — had revised the previous version rather than trying to rewrite it.
Others criticized the authors, saying many diagnoses in the manual would still lack a rigorous scientific basis.
Stanford Law School publishes an interesting blog on the DSM V.
Now, 
Neuroscientists routinely investigate such classical philosophical topics as consciousness, thought, language, meaning, aesthetics, and death. According to Henrik Walter, philosophers should in turn embrace the wealth of research findings and ideas provided by neuroscience. In this book Walter applies the methodology of neurophilosophy to one of philosophy's central challenges, the notion of free will. Neurophilosophical conclusions are based on, and consistent with, scientific knowledge about the brain and its functioning.
pressure was strongly correlated with volume of lesions in their brains' white matter, according to 
decline. 
may be reclassified as being in a permanent vegetative state. Recall 
Another condition is known as "Locked-In Syndrome." Locked-in syndrome is a rare neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles in all parts of the body except for those that control eye movement. It may result from traumatic brain injury, diseases of the circulatory system, diseases that destroy the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells, or medication overdose. Individuals with locked-in syndrome are conscious and can think and reason, but are unable to speak or move. The disorder leaves individuals completely mute and paralyzed. Communication may be possible with blinking eye movements
over 200 billion nerve cells), and human brains vary between 1.25 kg and 1.45 kg (with an estimated 85 billion nerve cells). A honeybee's brain weighs only 1 milligram and contains fewer than a million nerve cells. 
Here is a good one for all us musicians...
it's time to catch up at work. Everyone I talk to says they have too much to do and not enough hours in a day. Linda Walker's productivity tips in this month's article will come in especially handy..jpg)
The belief that healthy older brains are substantially smaller than younger brains may stem from studies that did not screen out people whose undetected, slowly developing brain disease was killing off cells in key areas, according to new research. As a result, previous findings may have overestimated atrophy and underestimated normal size for the older brain. 
People who consume high amounts of caffeine each day are more likely to suffer occasional .jpg)
different tasks at the same time..jpg)
ings with their left….”
Then as a personal favor to me, I was permitted to hold brains that had been removed from bodies. I was able to get a never before view of the brain's structure, texture and size. 
in function and behavior, with a central focus on human brain-behavior relationships. Neuropsychological research attempts to map the brain structures and functions that are critical for particular mental/cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacities.
New Advances allow detection of mental disorders which can arise from traumatic brain injury.
An article in the LA Times reports a study concluding that Brain Stimulation Improves Severe Depression.
