It is a thankless task to disentangle the ways the brain affects the body and the body affects the brain – the more so as researchers like Antonio Damasio demonstrate how many of our mental processes are a product of somatic reflexes and memory. People who experience chronic fatigue syndrome or post-viral fatigue have an even more confusing task in that many doctors deny the physical origin of these conditions, or at any rate the physical nature of their long-term symptoms. During the long history of these chronic conditions the contributions of physical and mental elements will change. It is … Read more...