Research
There are a few lines of investigation at
the moment:
1. Role of neuroscientific theories in the
construction of social identities and forms of sociality
that are informed by medical descriptions of subjectivity.
2. Hypotheses about mind/body and
mind/brain relations in psychiatric diagnostic categories.
3. Studies about epistemology and genealogy
of the categories "function,” “dysfunction,” “type” and
“variation” in the fields of medical, psychological and
psychiatric knowledge as they relate to notions of “normal”
and “pathological.”
4. Critical analysis of biographical
narratives about illness experience (autism, among others),
written in the first person or by family relatives.
5. Qualitative research about the
mechanisms of social and personal identity formation in
different groups: a) individuals diagnosed with autism, ADHD
and fibromyalgia and/or their nuclear family; b) adolescents
and their perceptions about neuroscientific theories; c)
individuals (diagnosed or not) that make use of medical
drugs to improve cognition; d) health professionals working
at private and public services involved with the health care
of people diagnosed with autism; e) public opinion (printed
and on-line media) about autism, attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and fibromyalgia.
6. Epistemological and genealogical
investigations about the intersection between
neuroscientific knowledge and the human and social sciences,
such as neuroethics, neuroanthropology, neuroaesthetics
7. Investigations in the field of
Disability Studies, focusing on ideas of autonomy and on
activist groups for civil and human rights.