Biomedical subjects

Grace E Jackson

Publications and source records attributed to Grace E Jackson.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A curious consensus: "brain scans prove disease"?

Presumably in recognition of the fact that there is no chemical test that can be used to diagnose any of the alleged mental illnesses, journalists and medical opinion leaders have proclaimed that brain scans--particularly, functional imaging studies--can be used to confirm the presence of psychiatric disease. Although the scientific record contradicts these assertions, the news media have ignored a critical evaluation of what, exactly, the new technologies purport to explain. The article that follows presents a critical analysis of the theoretical, practical, and philosophical limitations of the functional neuroimaging modalities (fMRI, PET, SPECT), and why these methods are not used outside of the research setting in the clinical practice of psychiatry today.

Brain↗

PubMed2003

The dilemma of early intervention: some problems in mental health screening and labeling.

Motivated in part by a desire to identify and manage individuals considered to be at risk for serious mental disorders, early intervention programs are becoming increasingly accepted by the medical community, increasingly supported by the pharmaceutical industry, and increasingly unchallenged by the public. This article examines some of the conceptual and practical difficulties associated with early, or preventive, mental health care. Examples are drawn from contemporary research as well as historical commentaries in the fields of industrial psychology, sociology, and education. The tone of the discussion is cautionary, but the goal is to encourage mental health professionals and consumers to consider the potential harmfulness of early intervention strategies before these programs are uncritically copied, expanded, or renewed.

Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic↗