David Katz, M.D., 2/6/12

Director, Yale Prevention Research Center

Unlike genes, over which we do not have true mastery and are unlikely to any time soon, memes are of our own devising. We have the means to make them do what we want.

Lloyd I. Sederer, MD, 2/6/12

Medical director, New York State Office of Mental Health

There has been a lot of smoke from the DSM fires. The field trials should help all concerned see through the smoke and into the embers of advancing the complex and continuous process of improving what we know about diagnosis in psychiatry.

Dennis Merritt Jones, 2/6/12

Award-winning author, Keynote speaker, spiritual mentor

I have been a devoted fan of silence for many years. Silence plays such an important role in our lives and yet we take it for granted; that is to say, we seldom anchor ourselves in the present moment long enough to listen and appreciate what silence brings.

Allen Frances, 2/6/12

Professor Emeritus, Duke University

In the Feb. 1 New York Times there is a telling op-ed by Benjamin Nugent, a successful writer and a "recovered" Asperger's patient. Mr. Nugent abruptly and spontaneously outgrew his disease right after college and has lived happily ever after.

Suzanne O'Malley, 2/6/12

Author, Screenwriter, Lecturer

New findings suggest that obesity and liver disease can be caused by proteins that change microbe populations in the stomach, according to a study published in the February 2012 issue of the journal Nature.

Shaahin Cheyene, 2/3/12

Founder and President, Accelerated Intelligence Inc.

Most people enjoy using the Internet on a daily basis. But for older adults, it could promote active learning as they grow older. A recent article from Discovery Science has found that those who use the Internet frequently use their brains more than those who just read a book.

Gary W. Small, M.D., 2/3/12

Dr. Gary Small is a professor of psychiatry and director of the UCLA Longevity Center

It doesn't make sense to wait years for definitive proof before we start a brain-healthy lifestyle. There's no reason to sit around for decades before beginning to protect our brains.

Lloyd I. Sederer, MD, 2/3/12

Medical director, New York State Office of Mental Health

Recently, the media has burst with stories about 15 teenagers in Le Roy, N.Y., where their tic-like symptoms and uncontrolled utterances have baffled local residents, school officials and families. The NYS Department of Health has been on the scene.

Meredith Melnick and Sarah Klein, 2/2/12

By the time class was finished, we were all relaxed, acclimated to the board and feeling a bit of burn. Just like real surfers -- almost.

Marlo Thomas, 2/2/12

Award-winning actress, author, and activist

Because my own father died of heart failure, I have long been aware of heart health and the importance of diet and exercise...

Deepak Chopra, 2/1/12

Author, 'War of the Worldviews'; Founder, The Chopra Foundation

America's obesity epidemic isn't improving because the information about how to reverse it didn't lead to motivation. The government can jiggle the food pyramid, but that won't matter as long as Americans haven't stepped on to the pyramid in the first place.

Laurie David, 2/1/12

Producer, author, NRDC Trustee

Paula Deen's problem -- hers and America's -- won't be solved with a prescription from the pharmacy. But it can be solved with changes in the way we all cook, and eat.

Phyllis F. Mitz, 2/1/12

Astrology, Spirituality and Psychology; Author, "Astrology's Secrets To Hot Romance" "You're Every Sign! Using Astrology's Keys to Create Success, Love and Happiness'

This can be a high-urgency week wherein many matters come to a head -- or at least attempt to come to a head. Many can have a feeling that if something doesn't happen now it never will. But don't worry.

Leigh Vinocur, M.D., 2/1/12

Emergency physician, national spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians

As a celebrity-crazed nation that is fixated on looks, unfortunately it's not the look of our arteries that we are worried about. If I can't get people to worry about how their insides look, maybe I can get them to focus on their health from the outside in.

Dr. Cara Barker, 2/1/12

Author, Analyst, Keynotes, Founder of The Love Project, Love Fests and Retreats

As we approach February and the theme of love, I know of no better way to begin what is coming in the next few weeks than to share an interview with someone well-versed in the affairs of the heart: Agapi Stassinopoulos.

Leo Galland, M.D., 1/31/12

Practicing physician, author and leader in integrated medicine.

Scientists have known for years that major and minor life stresses interfere with immune function and contribute to disease.

Dr. Harold Koplewicz, 1/31/12

Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist; President, Child Mind Institute

The piece, by L. Alan Sroufe, a psychology professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, was such a broad assault on what we know about ADHD, and how it is affected by medications like Ritalin and Adderall, that it deserves point-by-point response.