Love is... annihilation?

Amidst the rush to launch our website, a book arrives in the mail at SISSA. It is Semir Zeki's 'Splendours and Miseries of the Brain: Love, Creativity and the Quest for Human Happiness'. What better text to discuss in relation to the 50th anniversary of C.P. Snow's 'The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution'?. I put it in my bag for bedtime reading.

Rethinking ADHD

In a future issue of in the journal Trends in Neurosciences, Francois Gonon of the University of Bordeaux questions the theoretical basis of a drug given to over 10 million children worldwide. He argues that "neurochemical, genetic, pharmacological and imaging studies do not strongly support the view that a dopaminergic deficit underlies Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” and that this “weak” scientific theory “gives… credence to a view that favors psychostimulant medication over other medical, psychological and social approaches to ADHD treatment”. The prescription of psychostimulants (e.g. Ritalin) remains controversial. “Although it is difficult to accept, no scientific theory is socially preferable to a weak one,” Gonon concludes.