Slashdot Mirror
Video Game-Like Programs Could Treat Schizophrenia
derGoldstein writes "Discovery is pointing to an ongoing study by Sophia Vinogradov, professor of psychiatry at UC-San Francisco, who is 'trying to determine whether computer-based cognitive remediation, a type of brain training through video game-like programs, is effective for treating schizophrenia. ... In a handful of blinded and randomized trials with computer-based training, Vinogradov has reported cognitive improvements for both recently diagnosed patients and those living with the disorder for several years. So far, treatment — such as 50 hours of training over a 10-week period — has shown great promise for patients when compared to control groups.'"
A blog post about mental illness and startups. In the case of some mental illnesses/conditions, behaviorism can play a bigger part than the chemistry. It's an absurdly difficult subject to research, and progress is slow, but mental illness is up there with obesity on the watch-list of developed-world epidemics.
Entomologically speaking, the spider is not a bug, it's a feature.
I'm a firm atheist, but I don't think that the analogy to mental illness is entirely valid. Religion is more about extreme conditioning. If you have it hammered into you from an early age, in a severe manner, the mind will cling to it just as it does to physiological urges. Convincing people that theistic religion is a "delusion" only works in an environment where some freedoms are allowed -- the freedom to think for yourself, and the freedom to question anything you want to. In a fundamentalist environment, this will get you (at best) in prison.
Many people, after spending enough time in such an extreme environment, are beyond help. They're neurologically "fused" with their beliefs.
Entomologically speaking, the spider is not a bug, it's a feature.