The brain is different if you have depression, but are these changes caused by the condition or do they precede it? It seems now that depression appears to affect brain structure. Before looking at this, aRead More…
The brain is where it’s at. Or so it seems if you read the press or look at the bookshelves. The notion that brain is everything has been challenged recently and so it should — seeRead More…
The popular press is awash with neuroscience, now to the point that some authors are becoming ‘anti’. We need debate, so hats off to those contributors who rightly ask questions. We should never sit back andRead More…
It is useful to know where you are. Neil Burgess spends his time studying this important function by looking at the brain, the hippocampus to be specific. It would appear that the same brain cells thatRead More…
There is a growing trend to ‘neuroscience-up’ as a way of powering information and concepts. This is no bad thing as it means that current research is being applied to enhance our understanding of who weRead More…
I see a number of cases of cervical dystonia (spasmodic torticollis) that features awkward posturing and movement of the head and neck. This can be painful and have consequences for normal activities. We rely upon beingRead More…
As a physiotherapist I frequently use my hands to treat the joints and tissues. It comes with the territory, everyone expects hands-on therapy and it does helps to reduce tension and pain. Most likely, the painRead More…
Clifford Woolf recently said this about central sensitisation: Nociceptor inputs can trigger a prolonged but reversible increase in the excitability and synaptic efficacy of neurons in central nociceptive pathways, the phenomenon of central sensitization. Central sensitizationRead More…
Recent research has identified biological reasons for joint pain in arthritis: Interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine released both locally at the joint and in the spinal cord, consequently plays a role in the widespread nature of theRead More…
Pain is multidimensional. Pain is 100% produced by the brain in response to a perceived threat. The brain allocates a location using the cortical maps, hence why we feel pain in our backs or knees. TheRead More…