The Biological Basis of Medication Spellbinding

Some degree of spellbinding is characteristic of any compromise of frontal lobe function. Beer et al. (2006) noted that orbitofrontal damage is associated with objective inappropriate social behavior. The patients were aware of social norms of intimacy but they were unaware that their task performances violated these norms. The authors call this an impairment of self-monitoring and self-insight. Bach and David (2006) pointed out that self-awareness deficits are very common in patients with traumatic brain injury and key to the development of behavior disturbances Our research found that lack of social self-awareness predicts behavioural disturbance in acquired and traumatic brain injury independent of cognitive and executive function.  

The biological bases for the individual s failure to perceive adverse drug effects on his or her mental life include the following interrelated phenomena  

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