Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

When I was a doctoral student in developmental psychology in the early 1970s at the University of Rochester, there was a big, federally funded, longitudinal study going on that examined the relative contribution of genetics and family pathology to the later onset of schizophrenia in children enrolled in the study. One of my professors, noted…

Navigating through pregnancy is an exciting yet challenging journey. With so much information floating around, deciding what’s safe and what’s not can feel overwhelming. We live in an age where health news and rumors swirl around us like a tornado. One topic that’s been causing a stir recently is the Tylenol Autism Lawsuit. This legal…

Your browser does not support the video tag. Pause Green screen: The wildDISCO technique reveals nerves (green) throughout the body of a transparent mouse. By turning mice transparent and using fluorescent antibodies to label specific cell types, researchers have created exquisitely detailed whole-body maps of intact neurons, immune cells, blood vessels and lymph networks. The…

Cell signal: Mice missing the Dravet syndrome gene SCN1A from VIP interneurons show social differences that parallel autism traits. Photograph by Richard Drury The autism traits of people with Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, may stem from a certain type of inhibitory cell in the brain, according to a new study in mice.…

Primary care clinicians who receive special training can correctly diagnose autism in most cases, researchers say, potentially alleviating long waits children often face for evaluations. In a new study, community-based providers who were trained agreed with autism specialists about whether or not a child qualified for a diagnosis in 82% of cases. The development could…

Chef Sarah Stegner started Prairie Grass Cafe in suburban Northbrook with the mission of making diners feel nurtured and taken care of. So when Stegner learned that people with autism often feel overwhelmed when they go to restaurants, she saw addressing those needs as a natural way to continue that mission. “(Prairie Grass Cafe) creates…

In October 2022, a health news report in UPI narrated the story of Karleen DeGroodt and her experience with Tylenol, which contains acetaminophen. She stays in Orange County, California, and works as a registered nurse. During her initial prenatal visit, Karleen received a gift bag that included prenatal vitamins and some approved over-the-counter (OTC) medications…

Inside: I need to talk about something I’ve avoided for far too long. A topic that elicits big emotions and strong opinions.  But sharing my story has helped hundreds of thousands of parents, and my son would like to do the same.  So in this post, I want to share our story before and after…

The paper uses age and sex-matched subjects – one with ASD and one neurotypical (without ASD) – and analyses their microbiomes over a number of different studies.   The result was a conclusive pattern of differences between the microbiomes of ASD subjects and those of neurotypicals.   While it isn’t certain whether the microbiome causes ASD,…

The Ohio State Medical Board last week added irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as a qualifying condition to the state’s medical cannabis program, the Ohio Capital Journal reports. The panel, however, rejected the addition of obsessive-compulsive syndrome (OCD) and autism spectrum disorder as qualifying conditions.  In all, there are now 26 total conditions for which Ohio…