Medical What changes have been made to the Mind and Brain forum?

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The forum has transitioned from "Mind and Brain" to "Medical Sciences," with a focus on clarifying the scope of discussions. Threads related to basic science topics will be redirected to appropriate forums such as Biology for neuroscience questions, Social Sciences for psychology without clinical relevance, and Philosophy for discussions like mind-brain dualism. Clinical and human health topics are now prioritized, while pseudoscientific claims, particularly regarding homeopathy, are not allowed unless discussing the science behind the placebo effect. There is an emphasis on understanding the science of human health and disease, encouraging collaboration between the public, scientists, and clinicians. The forum aims to facilitate discussions that clarify complex research findings, especially those available through PubMed Central, while adhering to copyright regulations. The change is expected to attract medical professionals, enhancing the forum's value for health-related inquiries.
Moonbear
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As people will undoubtedly notice, we've changed this forum from Mind and Brain to Medical Sciences.

At the time I am posting this, the threads posted under the subject of Mind and Brain have not been moved, but will be migrated, as appropriate, to more suitable forums here. If your thread moves and you miss the redirect, it may be in Social Sciences (for pure psychology questions), Philosophy, or Biology (many of the more "basic" neuroscience questions will wind up there).

This change in name also changes the scope of this forum, and eliminates some of the more ambiguous redundancies with other forums here. Now, all basic science type questions should be placed in the appropriate subject-specific forum. For example, topics about action potentials, how to measure their propagation, or how these apply to neural function would be best placed in Biology. Topics about purely psychological studies without obvious clinical relevance should be posted in Social Sciences. Discussions of such topics as mind-brain dualism should be placed within Philosophy.

Questions pertaining to clinical and human health subjects are appropriate here. This site is still science-based, therefore, pseudoscientific claims such as homeopathic medicine will not be permitted unless you'd like to discuss the science behind the placebo effect. Some topics, such as naturopathic medicines/herbal remedies will be given some leeway (at the mentors' discretion) as long as they focus on understanding the active ingredients and are not based on claims with no scientific evidence. (Links to sites selling these products are still prohibited by our rules against spam/advertising.)

Topics that are especially welcome include those that seek understanding of the science behind human health and disease. We hope this will be a place where the general public, professional scientists, clinicians, and students of the sciences can come together and assist each other in learning how and why specific symptoms are manifest in the disease state, pharmaceuticals treat these symptoms, and what the status of current research is on these subjects.

As a further example, original research publications are now available freely to the general public when the research has been publicly funded in the U.S. at PubMed Central. However, as these are publications written by scientists for scientists, it can be very difficult for members of the general public to understand the content and relevance to human health and medicine. This is a place where scientists can help the general public understand those publications through discussion where questions and confusion can be expressed and clarifications made. (Please remember our forum guidelines regarding copyright regulations - post a link to the original article, and do not copy entire articles to this site.)
 
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Thanks Moonbear,

The change in scope to Medical Sciences also attract the doctors from various fields, this could really become one of the most required forum for everyone who cares or relates to health.

Regards,

Homeopath.
 
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