@RandyNesse

A founder of the field of evolutionary medicine, now encouraging psychiatry to find its missing foundation in evolutionary biology.

 Tucson, AZ
randolphnesse.com
Joined March 2009
  • Tweets1.7K
  • Following704
  • Followers7.4K
308Media
I hope Linda Brakel's article "The Freudian Unconscious: Evolutionary Adaptation or a Mere Epiphenomenon?" will rekindle attempts to put psychoanalysis on a scientific foundation? Article linked below but send her a note to get a copy. [email protected] tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…

The Freudian Unconscious: Evolutionary Adaptation or a Mere Epiphenomenon?

Is the Freudian Unconscious – consisting of repression and other unconscious defenses – an evolutionary adaptation or merely epiphenomenal? This article argues for adaptation. First, it outlines pl...

tandfonline.com
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New on Nessays: "Why depression is difficult to explain." It is because most of our questions have no answers of the sort we seek. New questions reveal normal low mood to be a cloud of overlapping responses shaped by many different situations. See replies.
The structure of low mood

ALT The structure of low mood

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Lots more at the link. nessays.com/p/why-explaining…

Why Explaining Depression Is Difficult

New questions will provide new answers

nessays.com
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Martin Daly has shared a video of his wonderful recent talk about the early history of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. It is full of nuggets about the people and ideas that gave birth to the field. I learned a lot and loved seeing the photos! drive.google.com/file/d/1q61…

MartinDaly_HistoryOfHBES_UM6P_Rabat.mp4

drive.google.com
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These Brits are bringing people together to grow evolutionary psychiatry! This meeting will be great fun!
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nessays.com/p/antidepressant…

Antidepressants are analgesics for mental pain

Much of the intense controversy that swirls around antidepressants arises from not understanding how they help.

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This Nov. 6 Symposium in London will be a milestone for evolutionary psychiatry. My title is: "Why all psychiatry is not based on evolutionary biology...yet". But I don't yet know how to explain why evolutionary biology is missing from psychiatry. rcpsych.ac.uk/events/confere…

8th International Evolutionary Psychiatry SIG Symposium

rcpsych.ac.uk
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Overprescribing and the "Do Something Imperative" substack.com/@randynesse/not…

Overprescribing and the "Do Something Imperative"

The intense situation where decisions are made

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In preparing my keynote address for this week's NIH NIDDK meeting, I am inspired by Robert Chevalier's articles on evolutionary nephrology. I look forward to talking with attendees about how evolutionary medicine can advance research. @isemph @NIDDKgov scholar.google.com/citations…
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On my way to Atlanta to give a @EmoryUniversity Grand Rounds on Evolutionary Psychiatry and see old friends including Peter Ash and Mel Konner. It will be so satisfying to talk with people IRL about their research and practice and what an evolutionary framework offers and how hard it is to do it right.
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This Prize helps to let everyone know about the best work in evolutionary medicine. Nomination takes only a minute. The chances of winning are greater than for any other prize of this size. isemph.org/Omenn-Prize @TriCEM_NC @evmedasu @UmEhap @eseb_org @sse_evolution
ISEMPH@ISEMPHJan 31
Nominate an article on evolution and medicine for the Omenn Prize of $5000 and a trip to the annual meeting of the International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. Self-nominations are welcome. Details at isemph.org/Omenn-Prize
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Randy Nesse retweeted
ISEMPH@ISEMPHJan 27
Only 3 more days to get a 20% discount on ISEMPH membership! Use code "EB2026" at checkout. Membership pays for itself if you come to even one meeting in 3 years. Register for the July meeting also, refund is easy if you can't make it after all. isemph.org/
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A new post on the role of positive feedback in disease may be of interest. open.substack.com/pub/randyn…

Runaway positive feedback and disease

Vicious cycles are everywhere once you recognize them

nessays.com
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Viewing depression as a consistent condition with specific causes & functions is an understandable but serious mistake. The various aspects of low mood evolved to cope with the adaptive challenges in diverse related situations, and the control systems can fail for many reasons.
Harsha Perera
@harshacoachJan 23
Replying to @ericweinstein
Mood disorders such as depression, involve the problem of dimensionality —complex interactions of biology, conditioned life experience, environment. It’s a shifting landscape of baselines and responses… I’ve found the work or @RandyNesse helpful in exploring this
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The EvMed Review, Renewed! open.substack.com/pub/evmedr…
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The genotype-to-phenotype path is a maze in a tangled bank open.substack.com/pub/randyn…
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Turns out all the Friend of Darwin award winners this year are experts in evolutionary medicine! I will be curious to hear what we all have to say at the Dec 4 event at 6 pm ET. @isemph @UmEhap @TriCEM_NC @NCSE @evmedasu us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
National Center for Science Education@NCSE13 Nov 2025
Join us virtually on 12/4 at 6 ET as we celebrate our 2025 Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet recipients. Register in advance for a link - us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi… #celebratescience #ncse
Flyer image. The text reads: 2025 Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet Awards. December 4 at 6:00 ET. Register for this virtual event to receive a link. 6 images featuring this year's recepients: Katie Hinde, a group photo of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Vanderbilt, Randolph M. Nesse, John Toohey-Morales, a group photo of the CLEO Institute, and Kim Cobb.

ALT Flyer image. The text reads: 2025 Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet Awards. December 4 at 6:00 ET. Register for this virtual event to receive a link. 6 images featuring this year's recepients: Katie Hinde, a group photo of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Vanderbilt, Randolph M. Nesse, John Toohey-Morales, a group photo of the CLEO Institute, and Kim Cobb.

The text reads: NCSE's 2025 Friends of Darwin. Join us virtually 12/4 at 6 ET. Recipients: Katie Hinde, Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt, Randolph M. Nesse. Images: Headshot of Katie Hinde, group photo of Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt, headshot of Randolph M. Nesse.

ALT The text reads: NCSE's 2025 Friends of Darwin. Join us virtually 12/4 at 6 ET. Recipients: Katie Hinde, Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt, Randolph M. Nesse. Images: Headshot of Katie Hinde, group photo of Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt, headshot of Randolph M. Nesse.

The text reads: NCSE's 2025 Friends of the Planet. Join us virtually 12/4 at 6 ET. Recipients: John Toohey-Morales, The CLEO Institute, Kim Cobb. Images: Headshot of John Toohey-Morales, group photo of the CLEO Institute, headshot of Kim Cobb.

ALT The text reads: NCSE's 2025 Friends of the Planet. Join us virtually 12/4 at 6 ET. Recipients: John Toohey-Morales, The CLEO Institute, Kim Cobb. Images: Headshot of John Toohey-Morales, group photo of the CLEO Institute, headshot of Kim Cobb.

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The ClubEvMed on Dec 2 at Noon ET on this new book will be interesting! Laurence Hurst will kick it off, David Haig will comment, and I will MC a lively discussion. @isemph @UmEhap @TriCEM_NC @evmedasu @evmed_ch @Pitt_CEBaM Register now! duke.zoom.us/meeting/registe…
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