top of page
Phil Harris
freespace

Blog
Search


Emotional Pitch and Speech
In teaching Motivational Interviewing I describe how we need to listen to the emotional emphasis of the client's statements rather than...
Phil Harris
Jul 4, 20183 min read


Psychosis is an Auto-Immune Disease: A Review
There is a lot of interest in the role that the auto-immune system plays in the development of psychosis. For a very readable review of...
Phil Harris
Jul 4, 20181 min read


Special Feature: The Marshmallow Test (Slight Return)
I am a big fan of Prof Walter Mischel and his wonderfully simple but hugely influential Marshmallow Tests (you can see some original...
Phil Harris
Jun 27, 20189 min read


Important Break Through in Understanding Alcohol and Genetics?
I have always been skeptical of primary genetic addiction models. The idea that disorders such as alcoholism was driven by gene actions...
Phil Harris
Jun 22, 20182 min read


Depressed & Left Handed? You Need Different Meds.
Treatment for the most common mental health problems could be ineffective or even detrimental to about 50 percent of the population,...
Phil Harris
Jun 21, 20182 min read


The Quantum Physics of Groups
A scientist at Duke University says the natural evolution of social organizations into larger and more complex communities that exhibit...
Phil Harris
Jun 21, 20183 min read


New Medication to Reduce Relapse
As I discussed in an earlier post, drug and alcohol problems are linked to six centers in the brain, particularly memory. Interesting...
Phil Harris
Jun 13, 20182 min read


Finally the Genes for Schizophrenia?
A USC research team identified 150 proteins affecting cell activity and brain development that contribute to mental disorders, including...
Phil Harris
Jun 10, 20182 min read


Depression Affects Memory More Than We Think
During a depressive episode the ability of the brain to form new brain cells is reduced. Scientists of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum...
Phil Harris
Jun 10, 20182 min read


Six Brain Systems in Addiction
For a long time I argued that the action of drugs on pleasure centers in the brain was far too simplistic, and the least, memory played a...
Phil Harris
Jun 10, 20184 min read


Spiritual Center of the Brain Discovered
Anyone who has heard me lecture or conduct training on neuroscience will know that I have always emphasized a little regarded region of...
Phil Harris
Jun 3, 20182 min read


Schizophrenia: Is the Placenta the Missing Link?
New research shines a spotlight on the placenta's critical role in the nature versus nurture debate and how it confers risk for...
Phil Harris
May 31, 20184 min read


Environments Influence Drug Action at Neurological Level
In lectures on drug and alcohol use I often state that the experience of intoxication in not purely pharmacological. Whilst drug and...
Phil Harris
May 15, 20183 min read


Anxiety and the Negativity Bias
Anxiety is often produced by the generalization of negative experiences. Usually, the more novel the negative experience the more...
Phil Harris
May 14, 20183 min read


Have I Told You My Deja Vu Joke? That Strange Feeling Explained.
Most people can relate to the prickly, unsettling experience of déjà vu: When you're in a new situation, but you feel like you've been...
Phil Harris
Mar 4, 20184 min read


Age Deviancy: Mechanism for Age Related Behavior Discovered
In lectures on the life course I often discuss two central issues about aging. Firstly is the concept of age deviancy. This is the...
Phil Harris
Feb 18, 20181 min read


Time for Alcohol V2.0.
Alcohols days may be numbered. Research scientists such as Prof David Nutt has been working on an alternative to alcohol that does not...
Phil Harris
Feb 18, 20181 min read


Special Feature: The (Mostly) Moral Brain
I have become increasingly interested in how people respond to moral dilemmas and what this reveals about the brain. In everyday life, I...
Phil Harris
Jan 16, 20183 min read


Use Your Illusion Volume 2
In a continuation of the how the brain imposes meaning on the world around us, Anil Seth discusses the mechanics of how the brain...
Phil Harris
Jan 8, 20181 min read


Use Your Illusion Volume 1
After a long debate in Nottingham with some colleagues about the nature of reality and consciousness which unnerved people a little, I...
Phil Harris
Jan 8, 20183 min read
bottom of page