Blog Posts

addressing Multi-system Neuro-Immune-Developmental Disorders ----- is the mental health profession able to address this alonE?

3/17/2025

Val's Take/Conjecture

The Mental Health Profession is NOT able to address Multi-System Neuro-Immune-Developmental Disorders alone.
When we think about Paradigm Shifts throughout history such as the Copernican Revolution or Darwinian Revolution ---
- the new understandings themselves as hard won as they were ----
  - pale in comparison to what it actually took to modify existing understandings and systems.

Ideally, there are INCLUSIVE PROCESSES to incorporate NEW UNDERSTANDINGS and support is provided to workers who are impacted by these new understandings to make transitions as smooth as possible.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Incorporating:

Maternal Immune Activation that can turn on PRO-INFLAMMATORY Genes and dysregulate multiple systems of the body
So that the body will be less able to deal with stress during the lifetime

When people talk about being PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVORS, that's not all patients but it is some, what they are talking about in some instances is a Ham-Handed attempt to change DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES that the profession doesn't realize are DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES.

As nice as mental health professionals generally are, the failure to keep them up to date with science is NOT innocuous.

nradke
Good Explanation of Thomas Kuhn's "Paradigm Shift"

Immune dysregulation in Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Aggression and Substance use

2/16/2025

Val's Take

It would be great if the Colorado Mental Health Profession generally and those working in Forensics 
- would STEP UP and substantively address the historical problems of insufficient mental health knowledge in the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM and the need to incorporate new understandings and remedy past mistakes of overloaded systems.

Transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of microglia in substance use disorders (2023)

Maternal immune activation and adolescent alcohol exposure increase alcohol drinking and disrupt cortical-striatal-hippocampal oscillations in adult offspring (2022)

Microglia in neuroimmunopharmacology and drug addiction (2024)

Aggression --- Humanity's Ultimate Double-Edged Sword

Hair Analysis, Psychological Analysis, the Criminal Law & the Ethical & Moral Imperative to Pull Back

Antisocial personality disorder: Failure to balance excitation/inhibition? (2025)

Article is meant among other things "to enhance societal awareness and reception of the neurobiological basis of antisocial behavior and ASPD [Anti-Social Personality Disorder]."

The neurobiology of antisocial personality disorder [APD] (2024)

Associations of the immune system in aggression traits and the role of microglia as mediators (2024)

Resveratrol prevents offspring's behavioral impairment associated with immunogenic stress during pregnancy (2025)

Academic Proposal that Anti-Social Personality Disorder is a Neuro-Developmental Disordeer

Justice & the Need for better outcomes in behavioral Health

2/8/2025

Val's Take

We need to get Clinicians and the Public more aware of critical research involving the Neuro-Developmental/Psychiatric Continuum of the last 10 years.
Developmental Issues occurring IN UTERO are not widely known --- even if they are widely discussed in the research.
Further, Dysregulation of the Brain's INNATE IMMUNE CELLS appear to have far-ranging effects across the lifespan.
We need to provide the SUPPORT necessary for Behavioral Health to be a competent profession.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

"No good deed goes unpunished" is a sardonic commentary on the frequency with which acts of kindness backfire on those who offer them.

In other words, those who help others are doomed to suffer as a result of their helpfulness.

No good deed goes unpunished, no bad one unrewarded. --- Walter Map, 12th Century

--- Wikipedia

"The Earth is not flat" -------------NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES / DISABILITIES, "MENTAL ILLNESS," WORK AROUNDS & CRITICAL THINKING

Research is Everybody's Business

Gary Clark, Jr.
Bright Lights

You're gonna know my name by the end of the night --- MICROGLIA

Behavioral Health Outcomes Lag Behind Most Major Diseases Despite Higher Costs (2025)

[Information provided by YOUU Health on EIN Presswire]

The Eggshell Skull Rule and Environmental Toxins

2/7/2025

What are the implications of the "Eggshell Skull Rule" and the "Exposome" for Neuro-Diverse people with Maternal Immune Activation?

Val's Take/Conjecture

Maternal Immune Activation does seem to create idiosyncratic vulnerabilities, including types of immuno-compromised systems.

There are man-made toxins and natural toxins.

PESTICIDES

Immuno-compromised people are more vulnerable to Pesticides than people who are not immuno-compromised.
- Pesticides are also associated with increased risk of Parkinson's.
- Environmental Exposure to Pesticides and the Risk of Child Neurodevelopmental Disorders (2024)

MICROPLASTICS

Impacts of microplastics on immunity (2022)

Environmental Toxins & Mental Health

Previously we've conceptualized Neuro-Developmental, Psychiatric and Neuro-Degenerative Disorders as having to do with the Brain and Neurons.

More and more we are conceptualizing these disorders as NEURO-IMMUNE DISORDERS, and there are more components than that.

BUT the Immune System is a critical system --- and we can't understand these disorders without understanding the Immune Component.

THE EXPOSOME ACROSS THE LIFESPAN & TRANS-GENERATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

"The exposome concept refers to the totality of exposures from a variety of external and internal sources including chemical agents, biological agents, or radiation, from conception onward, over a complete lifetime.
"It encompasses also 'psychosocial components' including the impact of social relations and socio-economic position on health."

EGGSHELL SKULL RULE

The eggshell skull rule, also known as the thin skull rule, is a common law doctrine that makes a defendant liable for the plaintiff's unforeseeable and uncommon reactions to the defendant's negligent or intentional tort .

If the defendant commits a tort against the plaintiff without a complete defense , the defendant becomes liable for any injury that is magnified by the plaintiff's peculiar characteristics.

It is essential to emphasize that the eggshell skull doctrine does not entitle the plaintiff to compensation for an unrelated pre-existing injury.

A common example of this doctrine is that a person's skull was very thin due to the person’s own health condition, if the person gets into an accident, the other person who caused the accident will be liable for the actual damages , although the average person would not suffer the same serious injuries in the same accident as the person with the thin skull.

Late prenatal immune activation in mice induces transgenerational effects via the maternal and paternal lineages (2023)

Having a come to jesus with the budget hawks &the problem of dangerous defendants with some form of cognitive disability

2/6/2025

Val's Take

One of the things that happens frequently in Colorado State Government is the creation of a bureaucracy, or office, or navigator system in lieu of MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE:
- Housing or
- Secure Placements
- Etc.

Of course if there are people being stabbed in Downtown Denver --- these administrative fixes are not much of a bargain.

A big complicating factor is that Jails are generally financed by the COUNTY and Mental Institutes are financed by the STATE.
Counties around the country and in Colorado want people with "mental illness" out of their jails because it is a LARGE COST they don't want.

The IMD Rule & Administrative Enforcement of Disability Civil Rights Laws

The Stepping Up Initiative to get people with mental illness out of the jails has been around for awhile --- and there are many stakeholders but most prominent are the COUNTIES.

Denver has tackled the issue of Housing to an almost miraculous degree.

BUT not everyone is going to be able to go to SUPPORTIVE HOUSING initially and maybe even --- EVER given current treatments.

The State seems aware of the need to build out the CONTINUUM OF CARE but doesn't know where it will get the money.

Getting more FEDERAL FUNDING could help.

CMS' Failure to Cover Housing for Long Term Care & the IMD Rule: What they have in common is Discrimination

Martin Luther King Day 2025: Historian John Hope Franklin & the Great man theory of History

2/6/2025

Val's Take

Historian John Hope Franklin rejected the 19th Century's idea of the Great Man Theory of History for appreciating the influence of Marginalized Social Groups on the trajectory of history.

Racism & Mental Health

Social Stress, Equitable Estoppel & the Criminal Justice System

structural racism, bad diagnostics and Anti-Social Personality Disorder

Historian John Hope Franklin interview with National Museums Liverpool

"I am a trained historian therefore I am slow to provocation. On the other hand, I am involved with slavery not only as an historian but personally."

Building Individualized Supports For People with Neuro-Developmental Disorders & An IQ Over 70

1/26/2025

Additionally, neuro-diverse kids, adolescents and adults are more different from one another than neuro-typical folks are different from one other.

When I use the term neurotypical, I generally mean someone who did not experience Maternal Immune Activation (MIA).

Further, the HOPE that DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS really had negligible effects if you had an IQ over 70 is not reality, and more and more researchers and clinicians recognize that.

Part of the issue has been that when we thought of DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS we often thought of INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES.

We weren't necessarily thinking of people with average or high intelligence and HIGHLY DYSYSREGULATED SYSTEMS of the body that would greatly impact EMOTIONAL REGULATION, and other health issues including CANCER.

Interaction between maternal immune activation and postpartum immune stress in neuropsychiatric phenotypes (2024)

"Maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy alters the offspring’s immune profile as well as their neurodevelopmental trajectories, thereby increasing the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder."

Neurodevelopmental disorders, immunity, and cancer are connected (2022)

Why is michael Marshall dead?

1/21/2025

Val's Take: Denver has made historic progress in providing housing and coordinating with Medicaid case management to substantively address homelessness in the city.

Credit goes to Mayor Mike Johnston in the first instance --- and then there are all those homeless advocates and people with lived experience of homelessness.

Other American cities such as Houston and even other countries such as Finland have also made great strides in addressing homelessness and served as models for Denver.

Colorado State Government understands the need to build out a CONTINUUM OF CARE --- they are unsure how they will pay for it. Better understanding who really needs the HIGHEST LEVELS in the CONTINUUM of CARE could help.

Michael Marshall may not have needed that highest level of care and he might be alive today if he had access to secure housing and adequate case management.

MLK Day Marade 2016
Why is Michael Marshall Dead?

The Cellular basis of Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders

1/20/2025

Val's Take/Conjecture

The pace of research seems to be "quickening."
It is likely 2025 will bring more in solidifying a biological understanding of neuro-developmental and psychiatric disorders.
There has been a skepticism in the public regarding mental illness without more precise information.
Even prior to the Grand Understandings and Treatments --- I think the public will be more likely to support Therapeutic Custodial Care over Incarceration if there is a firmer understanding of the biological issues.
Many advocates would have been concerned about this BRAVE NEW BIOLOGICAL understanding of psychiatric disorders.
Further, we should be vigilant.
Of course, the frightening limitations of our current understandings have made some of us ready for something different and better.

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY and "LIFESTYLE PSYCHIATRY"

Theoretically, there is no conflict between Biological Psychiatry and Lifestyle Psychiatry.
I do think addressing Lifestyle issues can help and even greatly improve Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders --- and we should be doing that.
The concern that I have with "Lifestyle Psychiatry" is it often doesn't seem to appreciate that Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders are largely DEVELOPMENTAL and begin IN UTERO.
Further, I do think there is a need to work one's way back in the CHAIN OF CAUSALITY --- because a lot of these problematic "LIFESTYLE CHOICES" are actually being driven by some problematic biology.

Brain cell-type shifts in Alzheimer's disease, autism, and schizophrenia interrogated using methylomics and genetics (2024)

"We observe and replicate cell-type compositional shifts for

Alzheimer's disease (endothelial cell loss),

autism (increased microglia), and

schizophrenia (decreased oligodendrocytes), and

find age- and sex-related changes."

The microglial innate immune receptor TREM2 participates in fear memory formation through excessive prelimbic cortical synaptic pruning (2024)

"Our cumulative results suggest that prelimbic TREM2-mediated excessive microglial synaptic pruning is involved in the fear memory formation process, leading to development of abnormal stress-related behavior."

Science Up

New Science is Amazing & It has huge moral implications --- NOW

INVISIBLE DISABILITIES & THE NEED FOR CENTERs OF EXCELLENCE IN DIAGNOSTICS & TREATMENT

12/18/2024

Val's Take/Conjecture

In the Middle Ages, they may have thought that someone with a psychiatric disorder was possessed by a demon.
Further, the person themselves may have thought that

We haven't thought that for awhile -- but Anti-Social Personality Disorder is a pretty close second.

The science is exploding and we're not on top of that the way we need to be.

We need to be funding Centers of Excellence in teaching hospitals around the country that can keep up with the science.

Further, we need robust Professional and Public Education Campaigns that can address new or modified paradigms.

It's a Wonderful Life

I think this is a brilliant scene by Frank Capra --- and Capra turns our hero George Bailey into a Bully --- I think that was genius.

We do understand the fear and frustration --- even as "shaking Uncle Billy" isn't going to solve the problem.

Ingmar Bergman
The Seventh Seal

The young woman is believed to be in communication with the devil, and she believes that too.

The knight believed it as well, and after a conversation with the young woman doubted any communication with the devil and struggled to address her burning at the stake.

He and his squire determining that the young woman was almost dead anyway.

youtube

Additionally, many people in the Criminal Justice System have a "NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER" which is part of the Neuro-Developmental/Psychiatric Continuum.

There is no reason why we can't have HUMANE. THERAPEUTIC, CUSTODIAL CARE if needed.

Further, we're on the verge of biomarkers and treatments involving microglia and other aspects of the IMMUNE SYSTEM --- that were not on the radar screen 20 years ago.

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Transitional/ Translational Justice Monday

addressing Multi-system Neuro-Immune-Developmental Disorders ----- is the mental health profession able to address this alonE?

Immune dysregulation in Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Aggression and Substance use

Justice & the Need for better outcomes in behavioral Health

The Eggshell Skull Rule and Environmental Toxins

Having a come to jesus with the budget hawks &the problem of dangerous defendants with some form of cognitive disability

Martin Luther King Day 2025: Historian John Hope Franklin & the Great man theory of History

Building Individualized Supports For People with Neuro-Developmental Disorders & An IQ Over 70

Why is michael Marshall dead?

The Cellular basis of Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders

INVISIBLE DISABILITIES & THE NEED FOR CENTERs OF EXCELLENCE IN DIAGNOSTICS & TREATMENT

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