•  8332
    The diagnosis of mental disorders: the problem of reification
    Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 6 155-179. 2010.
    A pressing need for interrater reliability in the diagnosis of mental disorders emerged during the mid-twentieth century, prompted in part by the development of diverse new treatments. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), third edition answered this need by introducing operationalized diagnostic criteria that were field-tested for interrater reliability. Unfortunately, the focus on reliability came at a time when the scientific understanding of mental disorders was em…Read more
  •  1630
    The neurobiology of addiction: implications for voluntary control of behavior
    American Journal of Bioethics 7 (1): 8-11. 2007.
    There continues to be a debate on whether addiction is best understood as a brain disease or a moral condition. This debate, which may influence both the stigma attached to addiction and access to treatment, is often motivated by the question of whether and to what extent we can justly hold addicted individuals responsible for their actions. In fact, there is substantial evidence for a disease model, but the disease model per se does not resolve the question of voluntary control. Recent research…Read more
  •  248
    Might stimulant drugs support moral agency in ADHD children?
    Journal of Medical Ethics 39 (6): 369-370. 2013.
    Stimulants have been shown to be safe and effective for reduction of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Despite much debate, however, there has been little empirical evidence as to whether stimulants affect authenticity and moral agency in children. Singh presents evidence that stimulants do not undercut children's' sense of self and increase their experience of agency. These findings are consistent with laboratory evidence that stimulant drugs in therapeutic doses improve…Read more
  •  212
  •  196
    Editor’s Note: If all goes as planned, the American Psychiatric Association will release a new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in May 2013. Since 1980, the DSM has provided a shared diagnostic language to clinicians, patients, scientists, school systems, courts, and pharmaceutical and insurance companies; any changes to the influential manual will have serious ramifications. But, argues Dr. Steven Hyman, the DSM is a poor mirror of clinical and biological realities;…Read more
  •  155
    There continues to be a debate on whether addiction is best understood as a brain disease or a moral condition. This debate, which may influence both the stigma attached to addiction and access to treatment, is often motivated by the question of whether and to what extent we can justly hold addicted individuals responsible for their actions. In fact, there is substantial evidence for a disease model, but the disease model per se does not resolve the question of voluntary control. Recent research…Read more
  •  5
    I Hope That We Are Not Living in a Post-Fact World
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 5 (3): 1-2. 2014.
  •  4
    There May Be Better Ways to Earn a Living
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 1 (4): 9-10. 2010.