To the Editor of The New York Times:
While neuroplasticity, the capacity for neurologic growth, is present throughout our lives, it falls off dramatically after the age of 5. It is challenging to learn empathy and compassion as an adult. These are critical emotional ingredients for a well-warranted recipe that would combine established science with humanity to bring about powerful policy and societal change.

To the Editor of The New York Times:
In Response to "Storm Propels Bloomberg Into Obama’s Corner": Government is a social contract. It has been working brilliantly in this week of Hurricane Sandy.

To the Sports Editor of the New York Times:
Although the N.C.A.A. punishment is significant in terms of financial repercussions for Penn State, a critical question is whether such consequences serve the most constructive purpose.

To the Editor of The New York Times:
Dr. Procci’s advice is for the depressed patient to identify the ethical caregiver. That is not so simple in a medical care system that denies access, limits complex consultation and rewards technology and procedures.

To the Editor of The New York Times:
"More Americans Seeking Help for Depression” addresses an emerging understanding of the two-way relationship between heart disease and depression. We know that depression occurs as a complication in 25 percent of heart attack victims; depression is also associated with a profoundly negative cardiac course, tripling or quadrupling the rate of heart attack recurrence and cardiac death.