Tom Plender
@tomplender.bsky.social
Musician, Artist, chairman of FND Action
Wholehearted support for shifting towards a “culture of curiosity” - love this! And also for taking human health and illness on its own terms. I’m personally very tired of some of the debates around FND, ME/CFS, etc, which feel stuck in old frameworks that won’t work -
This is very thought-provoking! I agree that medical systems - especially training - can select for false certainty and a sort of imperial mindset, Have heard from a number of docs that “I don’t know” isn’t an acceptable answer. IMO the false functional-organic distinction makes this worse.
1/Is it time to have an honest, systemic debate about “Institutional Narcissism” in medicine? This is not about attacking individual doctors—many of whom are brilliant, compassionate, and working within a flawed structure. It is about a structural refusal to admit limitation
PLEASE SIGN IF YOU CAN - My sister is an anthropology lecturer at Exeter University, they plan to slash the budget for social sciences, this represents an existential threat for the social sciences and will harm the student experience. www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
change.org
Fascinating article by Carlo Rovelli - 'There is no hard problem of consciousness' www.noemamag.com/there-is-no-...
There Is No ‘Hard Problem Of Consciousness’ | NOEMA
Consciousness is not separate from the physical world — our “soul” is of the same nature as our body and any other phenomenon of the world.
noemamag.com
Findings in this @biologicalpsych.bsky.social CNNI paper are complementary to other results published using graph theory metrics in @braincomms.bsky.social. Check out this 20 minute lecture by Christi Westlin that connects the two papers! 8/8 youtu.be/0Zjs-7lf6fA academic.oup.com/braincomms/a...
Inside the Predictive Brain: Neuroimaging Insights into Brain Circuitry in FND
YouTube video by David L Perez
youtu.be
Transcranial ultrasound stimulation of the amygdala! Potentially useful for FND??
Oxford Medical Sciences Division@medsci.ox.ac.uk · 4mo agoNEWS: Oxford scientists uncover how the brain resolves emotional ambiguity @oxcin.bsky.social scientists find a key emotional centre deep in the human brain directly influences how we interpret ambiguous social cues.
Laura Graham who is a masters researcher at York St John University UK is studying FND. She also has FND herself. She’s doing an international anonymous online survey if you would like to take part here's a link - yorksj.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.
yorksj.eu.qualtrics.com
A while ago I gave a talk at the London Medical Society on “functional” vs “organic” illness (it was rough, I was nervous). Now Ben Stecher, an awesome Parkinson’s advocate-researcher, analyzes it in this lovely blog post to examine overlap of FND + PD Delighted! 🙏 tmrwedition.com/2026/03/02/t...
Rethinking FND in Parkinson's: Beyond the Organic Binary
The organic vs. functional binary fails Parkinson's patients. Discover why Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) require an embodiment framework to treat.
tmrwedition.com
1/"The distinction between diseases of 'brain' and 'mind', between 'neurological' problems and 'psychological' or psychiatric ones is an unfortunate cultural inheritance the permeates society and medicine,
Just over 2 weeks left to submit your abstracts to the @fndsociety.bsky.social for the biannual FND international conference in Baltimore! Do come & support this new society for what must be medicine’s oldest & most enigmatic disorder! @https://www.fndsociety.org/biennial-meeting/2026/abstract
This is great - a really nice overview of recent FND network studies, and a friendly introduction to predictive processing theory in FND 🙌
David L Perez MD, MMSc@davidlewisperez.bsky.social · 7mo agoFindings in this @biologicalpsych.bsky.social CNNI paper are complementary to other results published using graph theory metrics in @braincomms.bsky.social. Check out this 20 minute lecture by Christi Westlin that connects the two papers! 8/8 youtu.be/0Zjs-7lf6fA academic.oup.com/braincomms/a...
Too bad these conditions are among the most stigmatized, and so the least researched (This goes for FND too!) Sometimes it feels like a real “we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” kind of situation
New @aanmember.bsky.social guidelines for the management of functional seizures led by Ben Tolchin. A landmark for people with FND worldwide. ✅Rigorous evidence-based process ✅Consensus practical recommendations ✅Endorsed by @fndsociety.bsky.social www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/...
New paper outlining a spatial account of #FND and proposing an approach to the co-production of functional symptoms. It draws on my longstanding work on geographies of health knowledges, my recent health experiences, and emerging interdisciplinary conversations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Such a superb, insightful & brave paper from @gailfdavies.bsky.social who so eloquently captures and describes what many of us have noticed about the evolution of symptoms as a result of patients’ interactions with the medical system👏👏💪🏻💪🏻 Straight into my top 10 of best papers ever on FND👌👌
Gail Davies@gailfdavies.bsky.social · 8mo agoNew paper outlining a spatial account of #FND and proposing an approach to the co-production of functional symptoms. It draws on my longstanding work on geographies of health knowledges, my recent health experiences, and emerging interdisciplinary conversations www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reclaiming FND for Rehabilitation Medicine – new open access editorial Neurorehab colleague Phil Milburn-McNulty and I set out why Rehab Medicine is so well-suited to treating FND, why they historically haven’t and what can be done to change things. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
As this year closes, hope may not feel loud or triumphant. It may be quiet, tender, or barely noticeable. It may be found in rest, self-kindness, or making it through one more day. If this year took more than it gave, know you are still worthy. Feather-light hope is still singing within you. #fnd
How gratifying that this is finally out! And what a pleasure to colllaborate on this. I hope it’s a real step forward for clinical care of people w func seizures. Also a wonderful learning experience for me personally - extremely rigorous methodology thnx to Maryam Oskoui and co-authors
David L Perez MD, MMSc@davidlewisperez.bsky.social · 8mo agoFour yrs in the making, @greenjournal.bsky.social Practice Guideline Executive Summary on the Management of Functional Seizures. First @aanmember.bsky.social published guideline on any #FND variant. Brilliantly led by #BenTolchin. @fndportal.bsky.social www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/...
I'm heartbroken to learn of the passing of Dr. Mark Hallett. A few thoughts in remembrance…
An important study (IMO) looking at social dynamics re: FND on Twitter. People w FND face continual attack by a variety of groups who dismiss our condition and experiences - ranging from abusive clinicians to other disabled people. It makes it even harder to exist in public with this dx.
JMIR Publications@jmirpub.bsky.social · 10mo agoAn Exploration of How Functional Neurological Disorder Is Discussed on X (Twitter): Mixed Methods Study Using Social Network and Content Analysis
Hey folks. ILAE's International Epilepsy Congress is now concluded (great meeting!), so I thought I'd share a few highlights from my talk on Functional / Dissociative Seizures (FDS). The full talk (and recording) belong to ILAE, but here are some of the key points!
I know what I’m reading this weekend! 😎
Jon Stone@jonstoneneuro.bsky.social · 12mo agoOur new open access paper looking at Migraine and FND, two of the commonest conditions in neurological practice. Migraine and functional neurological disorder (FND)—a review of comorbidity and potential overlap. academic.oup.com/braincomms/a... 🧵1/
Really looking forward to this www.rsm.ac.uk/events/hypno... interest? @mattburkemd.bsky.social @matthewbroome.bsky.social @jonstoneneuro.bsky.social @kingsioppn.bsky.social @susannahpick.bsky.social @wendyburn.bsky.social @inspirethemind.bsky.social @tomplender.bsky.social @fndportal.bsky.social
rsm.ac.uk
Devin Terhune@devinterhune.bsky.social · 12mo agoThis upcoming online symposium on suggestion, expectancy and imagery in stroke (and functional stroke) rehab (11 September) looks really good: www.rsm.ac.uk/event-bookin...
Latest attempt to try and define predictive brain mechanism in #FND in the simplest terms - A disconnect in the brain where - Beliefs/expectations + prior experiences Outweigh Incoming sensory input from present reality Does that seem accurate? Any thoughts appreciated 🙏
Is hypnosis the ideal therapy for #FND ?great presentation from Dr Abhijit Das - youtu.be/GEKLOwfhvA8?...
Hypnosis and Suggestion: An ideal therapy for Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)?
YouTube video by Dr Abhijit Das
youtu.be
Functional seizures don't act like epilepsy. Functional movement disorders don't act like nervous system damage. But is FND feigning or malingering? No! A great paper from @mahyog.bsky.social @jonstoneneuro.bsky.social explains why www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfil...
pure.ed.ac.uk
