Lenny_Toucan Report post Posted January 18, 2011 Just thought I'd let you all know that the latest issue of New Scientist magazine ('Why happiness is infectious' on the front cover) has a couple of articles some of you might be interested in in. Firstly, there's one about the MMR jab controversy and why so many people became (and in some cases are) so anti-vaccination. It's not a long read, but it points out a few interesting looking books on the matter, and it's nice to see it approached from a slightly different angle. The second article isn't directly about ASD/AS but it was certainly quite eye-opening and could be applied to many things including ASD and the other commonly comorbid conditions. It's the cover article about 'Why happiness is catching' (or something like that), and explains how the blood-brain barrier isn't quite as impenetrable as we once thought and certain things, in particular those regarding our own immunity can get through and seem to be having an effect on behaviour. They described one boy who, after a rapid bahviour change, was diagnosed with OCD. The symptoms dissapeared as soon as he started taking anti-biotics. He had to be on them for several years at first as they kept coming back, but after that he was fine. It's obviously still in its early days of theorising, but there's been a lot of interesting findings in lab-rats, and it seems to be backing up the abundancy of annecdotal evidence that has previously had no biological basis. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coolblue Report post Posted January 18, 2011 I read this too. The implications of what is able to get through the blood-brain barrier are very significant. cb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eco88 or joe Report post Posted January 25, 2011 Thanx a lot. I will look into this. Neurology and neuroscience obviously has a very, very long way to go! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
