The Imprinted Brain

How genes set the balance between autism and psychosis

Christopher Badcock Ph.D.

Mitochondria: Missing Pieces in Imprinted Brain Epigenetics?

Mitochondrial DNA plays a key role in epigenetics, which appears to be in line with the expectations of the imprinted brain theory.

A Diametric View of Death and Resurrection

A person is the sum of a real and an imaginary part—the latter potentially as immortal as their DNA.

The COVID Crisis, the Imprinted Brain, and the Diametric Model

The current crisis shows how DNA — that of a virus — can radically affect society in a similar way to that proposed by the imprinted brain theory.

The Meme Machine's DNA Spells Free Expression

DNA does not just spell out the machinery of the body. It can also be expressed in poetry.

The Sociability Spectrum: Evidence from Genetics

Sociability is on a continuum from low to high and affected by gene expression in accordance with the predictions of the diametric model and imprinted brain theory.

Study Links Key Imprinted Genes to Autism

Thirteen genes associated with key aspects of brain development have been found to be implicated in autism, just as the imprinted brain theory predicts.

Paranoid Parenting in Modern Society

Modern society has deprived parents of traditional folk psychology child-rearing skills and made them paranoid as a result.

The Diametric Model of Literature

The diametric model provides a completely new approach to literary criticism.

A Diametric Diagnosis of the New British Disease

The British led in industrialisation and may now be leading the collective cognitive correction to it, which only the diametric model explains.

Congratulations and Thanks to Estonia

Evidence from both genetics and publication suggests that Estonia enjoys more equality of opportunity than many countries in the West, even where the diametric model is concerned.

The Genetic Case for Monogamy

A recommendation of the imprinted brain theory is that a monogamous family is best for all concerned in lessening genetic, psychological, and social conflicts.

Are Our Leaders Using Only Half Their Brains?

Recent research in neuroscience suggests that the urban myth about people only using half their brains may be worryingly true of our political leaders.

5 Fundamental Fallacies About Genetics and Epigenetics

Five fallacies commonly in circulation obstruct the fundamental truth about genetics, and epigenetics in particular.

A New, True View of Race and Ethnicity

The whole controversial issue of racial and ethnic identity is being transformed by individuals having access to their personal DNA data.

The Imprinted Brain Theory in a Thousand Words

Explaining the imprinted brain theory in simple terms.

A DNA Blueprint for the Future

As Robert Plomin explains in his new book, Blueprint, DNA determines most of our psychology.

Environmental Epigenetics by the Father of the Field

An interview from the father of epigenetics explains the field with simplicity and insight.

Epigenetic Relatedness: The Refutation of Biological Racism?

Relatedness based on the expression of genes rather than their inheritance refutes racism in individuals and in general.

Bring on the Mother-Only Designer Babies

The imprinted brain theory makes predictions which bi-maternal/bi-paternal genetically-engineered children would test. 

Autism as Time-Travel: Gulliver’s Return

Belonging to the wrong era induces something much like autism which is epitomised in a newly-published satirical sequel to Gulliver's Travels and Voyage to Kazohinia.

Genome Study Finds Empathy Opposite in Autism vs. Psychosis

Self-reported empathy correlates with sex but more significantly with the autism-psychosis continuum.

Why Affluence Is the True Cause of the Real Autism Epidemic

Growth factors underlying autism can be environmental as well as genetic.

Autism, Psychosis, and Sanity: Diametrics of Co-Morbidity

A re-analysis challenges an earlier claim about paranoia and its relation to autism on one hand and psychosis on the other. 

Shared Attention Cuts Both Ways

Although rightly seen as a key mentalistic skill, sharing attention can also have negative consequences for individuals and society.

A New Test of the Diametric Model Using Visual Perception

A stringent experimental study of visual processing shows that autistic tendencies produce opposite results to psychotic ones: just as predicted by the diametric model.

The Autism of Asceticism and the Genius of the Monasteries

If autism is the neurological basis of asceticism, its diametric opposite: hyper-mentalism, may have been combined with it to explain the astonishing success of monasteries.

Autistic Brains Function Oppositely to Psychotic Ones

The first study to directly compare social mentalizing in autism and schizotypal personality disorder confirms the prediction of the diametric model.

The Moral of the Gender-Fluid Flatworm: Hold the Hypodermic!

Belief that bisexuality/hermaphroditism unifies the sexes and eliminates conflict is contradicted by a species of flatworm.

A DNA Marker For Paranoia As Predicted

A new study reports that imprinted genes on chromosome 15 are implicated in paranoia, just as the imprinted brain theory has predicted from the beginning.

Voices: Overheard in Psychosis But Underheard in Autism

As predicted by the diametric model, auditory symptoms in psychosis are opposite to those in autism, and both are extensions of normality.

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