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Dean Burnett (@Garwboy@ohai.social) Profile picture
Dean Burnett (@Garwboy@ohai.social)
@garwboy
Neuroscientist writer/humourist. Author of 'The Idiot Brain' and 'Emotional Ignorance' (published 12-01-23) https://t.co/T16cUfHN1d
Celia 🕷 Profile picture . Profile picture 2 subscribed
Apr 10 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
"If you're under 25 your brain isn't fully developed, so you can't be trusted to make informed decisions"

I'm seeing this a LOT lately, especially today. And it's utter guff, based on hearsay, misunderstandings of neuroscience, or wilful ignorance.

Why? I'll tell you why

/1 Firstly, the whole 'your brain stops developing at age 25' thing is spurious anyway. The original studies that came up with this figure, they just didn't include any subjects over 25. So that's when the data... stopped.

But that doesn't really mean anything.

/2
Feb 4 • 22 tweets • 6 min read
I was on @LBC earlier, discussing Brianna Ghey's petition for Social Media apps to be banned for Under-16s, and similar new restrictions



Only had 5 mins, so here's a more thorough take

TL:DR - understand her thinking, but this really isn't workable

/1bbc.co.uk/news/uk-681931… @LBC A few things up front

TW, obviously, as this is a very dark subject in many ways

Also, I am in no way maligning or undermining the valid concerns of a grieving, angry mother.

But there's a strong risk of doing more harm than good here

/2
May 17, 2023 • 20 tweets • 11 min read
Many click-friendly posts for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, saying 'seek help', 'open up' etc.

Well, here's something to be 'aware' of

Recent research by @Rethink_ suggests 3 in 5 people with mental health problems don't seek help... due to stigma

rethink.org/news-and-stori…

/1 @Rethink_ It's a drum I've banged often, but it's still pertinent

Mental health 'awareness' is an important first step, but it's not an end point. And for too many, being aware of/acknowledging mental health issues is taken to mean the problem's dealt with

theguardian.com/science/brain-…

/2
May 15, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Judging from the reaction to this... a lot of people care about ADHD diagnosis being represented fairly and accurately

It's almost like it's an issue you really shouldn't casually exploit and misrepresent for clicks, or something. Who knew? For the record, I don't (as far as I or anyone else knows) have ADHD

But I have many individuals, who I value greatly and/or who are very close to me, who have recently been diagnosed ADHD, and you'd better believe I'll go to the bat for them in any context

/2
May 15, 2023 • 36 tweets • 10 min read
OK then, you want to play? Let's do this

Here's a thread of every red flag I can identify in this article, and why they're misleading/dangerous/just generally bad

Strap in, because there are lot of them.

/1 So, even the article summary is dubious

How did you get access to a 'Leading NHS consultant', mate? The vast majority of people dealing with (potential ADHD) have to wait years for such a thing. Surely you didn't just jump the queue by flashing your BBC credentials?

/1 Image
Apr 18, 2023 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
Was recently asked which scientific 'myth' I'd like to see banished forever

Obviously, given my field and output, I had to choose 'we only use 10% of our brains'

A common moan, sure. But it's not just a silly thing that leads to shoddy movie plots. It's worse than that

/1 For one thing, the origins of the 'we only use 10% of our brain' notion are unclear. But analysis suggests it came about *at least* a century ago. Believe it or not, our understanding of the brain has improved by orders of magnitude since then

/2
Apr 16, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This is so wrong that it actually violates the laws of spacetime, loops back on itself, and ends up being 100% wrong, repeatedly, in multiple ways, all at the same time This Goodwin berk getting SO MUCH AIRTIME is a legitimate disgrace by the UK media

Imagine if the big papers handed all their premier league coverage over to a part time Grimsby town goalkeeper, still bitter about his failed trial at QPR

This is the academic equivalent of that
Mar 6, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Thursday: "The Johnson family suffered during lockdown, broke the rules they enforced on the rest of us, and we should all feel sorry for them"

Monday: Boris Johnson nominates father Stanley for Knighthood, for services to domestic abuse, or something

It's. So. Enraging! Reminder:
Literal millions of us lost loved ones during the pandemic. Many may have been spared if PM Johnson had made better decisions

We all obeyed the rules (with harsh penalties) Johnson imposed, painful as they were. Because it was the law, and others could have died

/2
Feb 17, 2023 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
There's actually a lot of weird neuroscience/psychology that leads to this persistent phenomenon of 'aggressively defending the wealthy and powerful', including

- The Just World Hypothesis
- Parasocial relationships
- Social identification

So here's another explainer thread

/1 Firstly, what's the 'Just World' hypothesis? It's the cognitive bias where we tend to assume the world is fair and 'just'. That good actions are rewarded, and bad actions are punished. Perceived (un)fairness is something humans are 'wired' to react to

nature.com/articles/srep0…

/2
Feb 7, 2023 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
Interesting questions from @CollinsMandy

Why do our persistent anxieties tend to emerge just before we go to sleep? My kids have the same thing

I can think of two explanations for this; one learned, one neurological.

/1 One simple reason why our anxieties pop up before we sleep is that the 'going to sleep' period is where we're most alone with our thoughts. There's no distractions of things to preoccupy us, so the things our brains are concerned about have more chance to claim our attention

/2
Jan 1, 2023 • 27 tweets • 9 min read
Happy New Year all

If you 'celebrated' last night, and are 30 or over, you've probably spent today grappling with a phenomenon @elisjames flagged up recently

The 'psychological' hangover. The intense anxiety/unease that lays you low all day, or longer. What's that about?

/1 @elisjames It's a bit of a cliché, in the UK at least; when you start drinking at 18 (*cough*) you can cane it all night, wake up and feel crap for a couple of hours, but then bounce back and do it all again, guilt free and right as rain

But as you get older, that gets... harder

/2
Dec 23, 2022 • 18 tweets • 5 min read
One regular stress of the Christmas period is the 'office party', or whatever you call it

Ostensibly meant to be 'fun', most people I've encountered dread it, rather than look forward to it

One explanation is that, thanks to how our brains work, 'enforced' fun... isn't

/1 Everyone's experienced 'enforced' fun at some point

The 'whacky' games a party host compels you to play, the belligerent interactive entertainment often favoured by holiday reps etc.

Personally, I really don't enjoy such things. And I know I'm nowhere near alone in this

/2
Dec 21, 2022 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Surprisingly, a lot of people have enjoyed this summary of Eyes Wide Shut

So, here is a thread of my summaries of some of the other films I've delved into with @ItsDanThomas and @SMERSHPOD for the Tuesday Night Movie Club

/1 Moonfall

Shouldn't be possible ,but I don't think anyone involved in this has ever seen the moon or knows what it is. A pointless mess that lost vast sums of money and even more dignity

Although a main character is an Elon Musk fanboy, so that adds up

patreon.com/posts/tuesday-… Image
Oct 10, 2022 • 16 tweets • 4 min read
It's #WorldMentalHealthDay

While good, it means countless well-meant posts/platitudes encouraging people to reach out, open up, practice self care, etc.

Such things *can* help with mental health, sure. But you know what would really improve mental health all round?

Money

/1 Whether it's #WorldMentalHealth or any of the other many related occasions, one common theme is that the messaging pretty much always focuses on the 'stuff that doesn't actually cost anything to anyone with any power'. And that's... not great, really.

/2
Oct 9, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The recent talk of the Govt again being brutal towards benefits and those who needs them reminded me of something that shows just how batsh*t the benefits system is in this country

Some years ago, a close family member had to claim jobseekers allowance for a few months

/1 It happens. Not exactly an economically privileged area, where I'm from.

Luckily they found another job in a few months. So, obviously, went to cancel their JSA. What with not being a 'scrounger', like 99.999999999% of those who need benefits

/2
Oct 4, 2022 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
Probably doesn't need saying, but I'm on my 3rd glass of wine so I'll say it nonetheless;

Taking money away from the impoverished will NOT *motivate* them to get better jobs or fill vacancies

THAT. IS. NOT. HOW. PEOPLE. WORK.

Never has been, never will be

To explain

/1 Firstly, poverty is incredibly stressful. It has massive (negative) impacts on wellbeing, mental health, stress, motivation, etc.

research.senedd.wales/research-artic….

Ergo, 'punishing' someone in poverty (i.e. be lowering benefits) is pointless. Their whole existence is punishing

/2
Sep 25, 2022 • 17 tweets • 5 min read
Every time politics leaves people hungry (seemingly a bi-monthly event), you ALWAYS get *this* take

"Basic edible matter is cheap, so this 'starvation' talk is nonsense"

Besides breathtakingly cynical/evil, it's also flat out wrong, for many (scientific) reasons

/1 First and foremost, it's universally agreed that humans need a 'balanced diet'. However you define that (and it can be tricky), it means 'people need to eat many different foods in order to function')

theconversation.com/food-variety-i…

/2
Sep 15, 2022 • 19 tweets • 4 min read
A point I've not seen raised elsewhere yet:

This zero-tolerance approach to those who don't show unthinking deference/respect to the late Queen, as well as being authoritarian, is counterproductive. It'll likely *increase* ill-feeling to the Queen and her funeral

Here's why

/1 Firstly, there's the process of 'reactance'. Put simply; people react badly to having their autonomy removed, and object to anything that does this.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Tell someone they can't/must to do something, they'll instinctively want to do the opposite

/2
Aug 13, 2022 • 17 tweets • 5 min read
They actually went and did it

Do you think too much about things? Then that is POISONING YOUR BODY! Just relax and don't question anything our columnists tell you.

Invoking science to suppress thinking. The ultimate irony, in a way.

/1 The thing is, the brain is, and always has been, a biological organ. Complex as it may be, it's still beholden to the laws of nature. So, if you 'use' your brain 'too much', it'll have negative consequences, i.e. the production of harmful bi-products



/2
Jul 27, 2022 • 34 tweets • 11 min read
Taken me several days to answer this, because migraines have long been a gap in my knowledge

Can't feel too bad though, because the science of #migraines is WAY more complex and uncertain than most would have thought

Here's what's known

Strap in, this will get complicated

/1 What is the root cause of migraines? Currently 'TBC', unfortunately.

But evidence suggests it involves neurological, vascular, hormonal and genetic factors are working in concert

Applies to pretty much anything in the brain, it never makes it easy

/2
Jul 22, 2022 • 23 tweets • 6 min read
My critique of that 'Depression isn't due to a chemical imbalance' paper led to another common claim/concern; antidepressants are 'no better than placebos'

Rather than a 'gotcha', I'd argue the placebo effect is meaningless in #mentalhealth disorders. Here's my thinking

/1 We all know what the placebo effect is? The phenomenon where people experience tangible benefits from something that they only *think* is medicine. It shows just how intertwined brain and body are. But it's also often exploited (e.g. alt med stuff)

verywellmind.com/what-is-the-pl…

/2