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.