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WEDNESDAY

“The era of the New Brain is upon us,” proclaims Richard Restak in The New Brain. Wonderful! you think, let’s just trade in the old, pre-millennium model for a shiny new cogitator. Ooh, maybe the New Brain will be all sleek and cool, like a Mac Mini! Well, Old Brain, think again. Because what Restak, a “preeminent neuropsychiatrist,” George Washington University professor, and chair of something called the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives is really getting at is how our minds are being bombarded into mush by the modern world. In a lecture on his latest work, Poe’s Heart and the Mountain Climber: Exploring the Effect of Anxiety on Our Brains and Our Culture, Restak will discuss how ADHD is becoming the new normal thanks to overstimulation and TV violence. But on the upside, the doctor will also provide guidelines for managing anxiety. And who couldn’t use a little help in that department? If you can manage to leave the house, pack your Klonopin and listen to Restak speak calmly at 6:30 p.m. at the S. Dillon Ripley Center, Room 3037, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW. $15. (202) 357-3030. (Dave Nuttycombe)