Once again revisiting individual differences

We are all different from one another. Understanding the nature of those differences can highlight what we are made of in terms of our underlying biology and patterns of living.

The study of individual differences through case studied has tended to be unpopular in medical science including studies of mind/brain functions. Perhaps that bias should be reconsidered.

An article in the NY Times appearing during the week of October 13 2014 caught my eye and mind because it gave me a new way of looking at the value of studying individual differences. In the article I read about medical case studies in which patients with a critical/deadly illness are treated with a drug that, in most folks is unsuccessful and the patients die. In one of these studies 40 patients are non-medicine responders but one patient survives and lives on for many years, disease free. What is it about the biology of that one patient that accounts for their atypical response to a lifesaving medicine? Is their a difference in their genetic makeup. This type of inquiry is becoming more and more prevalent. That is, by applying genetic mapping strategies to identify the individual variations in response to a treatment one can uncover how the expression of a specific gene may inform us about the nature of a disease as well as its treatment.

Leaping forward ……What can you learn about the mind/brain mechanisms of all sorts of functions based on case studies and systematic exploration of individual differences in behavior. No doubt we are all unique and not 2 peas in a pod, and even all granny smith apples are not the same having grown on different trees and even heirloom tomatoes share a huge number of properties with other tomatoes some would argue that heirloom taste better, look better or that may all be nonsense. It seems reasonable that we can learn a great deal from the study of individual differences in all sorts of functions.

Perhaps the same logic that makes differences in genetic makeup a meaningful arena for understanding why someone does or does not respond to a disease treatment so too might not a unique feature of someone’s past developmental/life experiences protect them from behavioral pathology. Similarly, unique developmental/life events can be responsible agent for the expression of pathology.

A few examples come to mind such as what facets of someone’s history may make them more less resilient, anxious, creative, resigned ……..