A joint research effort from Japan and the Mayo Clinic has identified an antibody that can help differentiate Devic syndrome-or neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-from multiple sclerosis (MS). NMO is generally considered to be a rare disease, but it may be underrecognized and is often misdiagnosed as MS, although it demands a treatment protocol that differs from that of MS. Indeed, in some countries, misdiagnosis may be as high as 30%, according to Mayo Clinic estimates. A research team hailing from the... More »

Dr. Cummings, the originator of Psychiatric Times' "Brain and Behavior" column, looks back over his career in neurology. Looking forward, he predicts that psychiatry and neurology will become ever-more intertwined. More »

Mind-controlled artificial limbs were once the stuff of sci-fi and then were regarded as a concept that would not see clinical application until a far distant future. However, clinical application may be only a few years away, in light of prolific work and significant progress in the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). BCIs are devices that record neuronal activity generated from voluntary motor intentions. A number of researchers, including Mandayam Srinivasan, PhD, director of The... More »

E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., explores the battle for control of the state asylums in the late 1800s. Using everything from rational arguments to blatant defamation of character, William Hammond's neurologists and John Gray's psychiatrists duked it out in New York as other states watched carefully in pursuit of what might follow. More »