Matthew D. Erlich, M.D.

If you lost a limb, would you think twice about getting a mechanical prosthesis that could be operated with your thoughts? If you lost hearing or vision, you might want a cochlear implant or a visual prosthetic. What if you lost a chunk of memory, or lost your ability to...

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
--Arthur C. Clarke

In fact, advances in neurotechnology are capitalizing on the brain's remarkable sleight of hand.

Neurotechnology refers to the applied science of understanding the brain, consciousness, thought, and higher-order activities of the mind. Neurotech's brainchildren are today's mental...

'Tis the season of intense emotions and evoked memories.

For some, however, the holiday time can generate feelings of grief, anxiety, loss and pain. Articles in journals and magazines talk about seasonal pathology: holiday blues, "Christmas Neurosis," seasonal mood disorders. We even hear about "Holiday Heart," a form of...

We may soon see "How's my doctoring?" stickers in emergency rooms, operating suites and on the bumpers of ambulances. That's because, as of October 2012, the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) requires patient satisfaction scores to be factored into how much Medicare will pay health care providers.

According to...

"Take two aspirin and call me in the morning" may be really good advice after all. That's because a doctor's decision-making abilities may be related to the time of day. Making decisions, choices, seems highly affected by what social psychologists call "decision fatigue," or the gradual deterioration in decision making...

"Television has done much for psychiatry," Alfred Hitchcock remarked, "by spreading information about it, as well as contributing to the need for it." Hitch did not live long enough to become acquainted with the dizzying number of commercials for psychiatric medications that promise relief from suffering, performance enhancement and healthy...