Research Studies
Posts examining published scientific research, including observational studies, clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. These articles explore study methodology, findings, limitations and implications for understanding Functional Neurologic
Suicidality in FND: Are Researchers Overlooking the Obvious?
FND Nope
Moderator
When people live with disabling symptoms, chronic pain and uncertain futures, suicidal thoughts are hardly inexplicable. So why does FND research place such emphasis on psychiatric comorbidities? A closer look at the research agenda and the common-sense questions it raises.
The Emotional Processing Theory of FND: Eight Years Later, Where Is the Proof?
FND Nope
Moderator
A 2019 review proposed that abnormal emotional processing could generate functional neurological symptoms. Nearly eight years later, its central causal mechanism remains unvalidated. We examine the original research, its acknowledged weaknesses, and what subsequent studies have actually established.
FND, Compensation and the Convenient Theory That Financial Support Keeps People Disabled
FND Nope
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A 2026 Frontiers in Neurology review explores whether compensation, litigation and financial support can reinforce FND disability. But where is the evidence that paying injured people keeps them sick, and what happens when speculative theories influence legal liability?
10 Suspicious Things You Apparently Shouldn't Do Around an FND Specialist
Quackademic
Sunglasses, wheelchairs, handwritten notes, music and even office chairs have all found their way into medical discussions of functional neurological symptoms. The real problem isn't that these observations necessarily diagnose FND, but that they can influence the wider clinical picture. A sarcastic, referenced tour of ten examples where ordinary behaviour risks becoming suspicious.
Havana Syndrome: When an Unexplained Neurological Illness Becomes FND
FND Nope
Moderator
NIH researchers classified 28% of Havana syndrome patients as having FND, despite unresolved questions about the origins of their symptoms, conflicting earlier research and warnings that different conditions may have been grouped together. Does identifying a functional phenotype actually explain what happened?
94.4% of Ehlers–Danlos Patients Reported Psychiatric Labelling or Dismissal. Two-Thirds Reported Conversion Disorder
FND Nope
Moderator
A 2025 study of 429 patients with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome found that 94.4% reported psychiatric labelling or accusations of fabrication, while 66.7% reported a previous conversion disorder diagnosis. The findings raise serious questions about diagnostic dismissal, medical credibility and missed physical illness.
When Defending FND Means Missing the Point
Quackademic
David Healy's warning that drug toxicity can disappear behind an FND diagnosis has provoked predictable criticism. But much of the response confuses how FND is supposed to be diagnosed with how it is actually diagnosed. The literature itself shows misdiagnosis, overdiagnosis and diagnostic overshadowing occur. You can dislike Healy's language. You still have to answer his argument.
Inside the Reasoning of an FND Professional
Quackademic
We examined repeated public claims about FND made by an allied health professional who treats the disorder for a living. Some are supported by the literature. Others go much further than the evidence allows. The recurring problem is simple: evidence seems much better at confirming FND than disproving it.
The Diagnosis of the Gaps: FND and the Problem of Phenotype Overlap
Quackademic
Davenport et al.’s comparison of Long COVID, ME/CFS and FND has drawn criticism, but some apparent errors expose a deeper problem: when FND can resemble almost every common neurological phenotype, definitions can determine the answer before the differential even begins.
FND: New Name, Same Old Problems?
FND Nope
Moderator
FND is celebrated as an area of medical progress, but how much has actually changed? Historical research reveals continuity with hysteria and conversion disorder, while modern diagnostic uncertainty and limited treatment breakthroughs raise questions about whether institutional recognition has outpaced meaningful progress for patients.
