In the News

James Giordano, PhD, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Center for Neurotechnology Studies, says in an interview with Boston's WBZ radio that neurofeedback toys and games are safe for healthy adults when used as the manufacturer directs. But he warns that consumers must be careful not to misuse these products, which employ a potent  technology.  Click here to listen to his interview in full.   

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Senior Fellow David Smith recently provided commentary to the international news website GlobalPost on the continuing controversy over a French-Russian ship deal.  Smith has been an outspoken opponent of the deal, and concurs with the article's observation that it is raising tensions within NATO.  He says France's decision to sell a Mistral-class warship to Russia amounts to "arming a proven aggressor." Click here to read the article in full.      

Center for Neurotechnology Studies Director Prof. James Giordano, PhD, says neurofeedback "brain games" can be lots of fun - but warns they're not for everybody.  As Dr. Giordano points out, the market has seen an explosion of products that claim to harness the power of the brain for a variety of purposes.  Neurofeedback uses sensors which, when placed in contact with the head, are able to pick up electrical output caused by brain activity. The signals may be input to a computer that translates them into a display, or - in games and toys - another device that uses them to power simple actions such as moving a ball.  Dr. Giordano says neurofeedback is safe and valuable when used in a clinical setting. But when used as a toy, he says the potential for harm is not fully known. He warns the devices should not be used by people with psychological or emotional disorders or conditions, and may not be ideal for children, either.  Click below to hear comments by Dr. Giordano on the "brain games" craze.

                   

Potomac Institute Senior Fellow David J. Smith will speak at the 73rd Rose-Roth Seminar sponsored by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.  This seminar, Regional Developments in the South Caucasus, will take place March 11-13 in Yerevan, Armenia, in cooperation with the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia.  Smith will speak about Russia’s August 2008 invasion of Georgia, based on his contribution to the book The Guns of August 2008, edited by Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr.  Rose-Roth Seminars bring together parliamentarians of the 28 NATO countries, associated countries and other interparliamentary groups.

Prof. James Giordano, PhD, is the director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Center for Neurotechnology Studies and an expert in the field of pain research.  In a recent issue of Practical Pain Management, he writes about health care reform, its advocacy of evidence-based medicine, and whether that approach can be applied to pain care. Dr. Giordano writes that addressing pain care within the context of health care reform is a vital task that is also "arduous" and "laden with conflicts." Click below to read his article in full.     

Dr. Tawfik Hamid, the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Chair for the Study of Islamic Radicalism, takes a stand on the relationship between Iranian policy and Israeli-Palestian peace in an op-ed for the Jerusalem Post.  Dr. Hamid argues that it is a mistake to hope that achieving Arab-Israeli peace would discourage Islamic radicalism in the Iranian leadership. Rather, he says it would be more effective to focus on Iran first, because the continued existence of radical leadership in that country incites radicals elsewhere in the region.  Dr. Hamid writes, "Defeating the Iranian regime first and ending its ambitions of having nuclear weapons capabilities can weaken radical Islamic movements and open the door for actual peace in the Middle East." Click here to read the article in its entirety.