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In Psychology Today online, a quick easy to read review about bipolar affective disorder and treatment options, especially new approaches is found here.

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The Disability Gulag NY Times magazine features a superb first person account by a lawyer who also just happens to have a physical disability. Harriet McBryde Johnson's article falls in the required reading category. What she calls "The Gulag" has relevance for all of us. It's difficult to think about these things, but most of us have parents who will age, not to mention that we all will age one day.
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Does drinking water improve brain power?

Passing along this blog post about a new study suggesting an association between drinking water and an increase in performance in elementary school kids. Caroline Edmonds and Ben Jeffes of the University of East London examined whether drinking water improves performance in 6 to 7 year old children. The differences between the water and no water groups were significant, according to a paper that's been accepted for publication in the journal Appetite. They found that "even under conditions of mild dehydration, not as a result of exercise, intentional water deprivation or heat exposure" their test subjects' "cognitive performance can be improved by having a drink of water." I would offer caution about extrapolating this into an endorsement for drinking mega amounts of water. Please don't! But I think it makes sense to see this as reminder to be mindful of your body and to be aware when you are mildly dehydrated.
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Determining When Someone Should No Longer Drive This is certainly a hot topic, in the wake of Santa Monica's Farmers' Market tragedy. APA provides a brief summary of a meta-analysis published in Neuropsychology looking at ways to assess 'driveability' in those with early stage Alzheimer's. Tests of visuospatial skills generally related best to driving abilities. They may be most helpful in identifying at-risk drivers, especially as visuospatial deficits are common in early Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The authors conclude that, “Although visuospatial deficits alone are not sufficient to recommend driving restrictions, the results indicate that when visuospatial deficits are present, clinicians should complete a careful evaluation of other risk factors.” They are a red flag to look for other problems. Reger et al. were surprised to see that attention and concentration tests may be less helpful than some other tests of functioning. Their effect sizes were si...
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