We’re super excited to bring you this week’s episode with Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist, Simone Mangelsdorf-Collett (she/her). We chat with Simone about Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) – or, as Simone puts it “the most common disorder you’ve never heard of”. Simone specialises in FND, neurodegenerative syndromes, and movement disorders, and practices out of Yarra City Psychology in Richmond, Melbourne. She is experienced in both ends of patient care, including assessment and diagnosis and rehabilitation and intervention.

If you’ve been wondering about FND, this episode is for you! We cover:

• What is Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), and how does FND differ from other neurological disorders (like epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s etc.)
• What does the term ‘functional’ mean, in this context?
• The historical context of FND and how our understanding of this condition has evolved over time.
• Some of the currently known mechanisms behind FND, including predictive coding theory.
• Some common vulnerabilities and triggers for FND.
• The overlap between FND, neurodivergence, and gender.
• Simone takes us through treatment options for FND and who would be involved in the treatment team.
• How Simone came to specialise in FND and her work in FND advocacy and education.

Things mentioned:

• FND Australia
• Support Functional Neurological Disorder in Australia
• Functional Neurological Disorder Society (FNDS), for professionals.
• Here are some studies on the link between FND and Autism – Tamilson et al., 2024, Gonzalez-Herrero et al., 2024, Pun et al., 2020,
• Link between gender and FND – McLoughlin et al., 2023.

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