Performance Decline Belies Seeming Wakefulness – NIH-funded Study A new study in rats is shedding light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair functioning without people realizing it. The more rats are sleep-deprived, the more some of their neurons take catnaps — with consequent declines in task performance. Even though the animals are awake and active, [...]
Activating neurons in a brain structure linked to disappointment increased depression-like behaviors in rats, while suppressing the neurons’ activity reduced the behaviors, according to an NIMH-funded study. The findings help to explain previous research linking this brain structure to depression in humans and highlight a cellular process that hadn’t been previously explored in mood disorders [...]
Studies provide insight for prevention and adaptation WASHINGTON—Psychologists are offering new insight and solutions to help counter climate change, while helping people cope with the environmental, economic and health impacts already taking a toll on people’s lives, according to a special issue of American Psychologist , the American Psychological Association’s flagship journal. Climate change “poses [...]
Children and teens who are exposed to secondhand smoke could be at greater risk of suffering from mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and ADHD, according to new study. Researchers, whose findings are reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, analyzed data from a national survey of nearly 3,000 children, ages 8 to [...]
Early examination of data from the U.S. Army’s Total Army Injury and Health Outcomes Database (TAIHOD) has revealed potential predictors of risk for suicide among soldiers. Preliminary results were provided by researchers leading the ongoing Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). Army STARRS, a partnership between NIMH and the U.S. [...]
ARLINGTON, Va. (March 15, 2011) — Children of mothers with major depressive disorder showed improvement in their own psychiatric symptoms in the year after their mothers’ depression responded to treatment, according to a study appearing in the online edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry. Since the children of parents with major depression are also [...]
Depression can often be effectively treated by talk therapy, researchers report. An analysis of studies reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry that compared interpersonal psychotherapy to other forms of therapy found talk therapy to be equally effective, although the number of studies analyzed was small. Pharmacotherapy-taking medication-was slightly more effective than interpersonal psychotherapy. The [...]
As many as 20 percent of adults being treated for depression in primary care may have undiagnosed bipolar disorder, a new study suggests. British researchers invited 3117 adults from South Wales who were being treated for depression by their primary care physician to participate in their study. The researchers, who reported their findings in the [...]
About 3 percent of U.S. adolescents are affected by an eating disorder, but most do not receive treatment for their specific eating condition, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print March 7, 2011, in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Background Kathleen Merikangas, Ph.D., of NIMH and colleagues analyzed data from the National [...]
The severity and impact of bipolar disorder and bipolar-like symptoms are similar across international boundaries, according to a study partially funded by NIMH. The results were published in the March 2011 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Background Although several studies report prevalence rates of mental disorders on an international level, the numbers have [...]
Video games more likely to lead to risky behavior than films, music, says decades of research WASHINGTON—Exposure via the media to activities such as street racing, binge drinking and unprotected sex is linked to risk-taking behaviors and attitudes, according to a new analysis of more than 25 years of research. The connection between risk taking [...]
Male Depression on the Rise as Economy Shifts Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/03/02/male-depression-rise-economy-shifts/#ixzz1FZMQTTnL
Black, Hispanic and Asian adolescents are less likely than whites to receive treatment for major depression, researchers report. They evaluated a national representative sample of 7,704 children ages 12-17 diagnosed with major depression within the past year. The study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, found the percentage [...]
ARLINGTON, Va. (Feb. 28, 2011) – Many mental, emotional and behavioral disorders can be prevented before they begin and there is robust scientific base of evidence to support this conclusion, according to a report in the March issue of the American Psychiatric Association’s journal Psychiatric Services. The article highlights and expands on the research identified [...]
Unemployed and those diagnosed with psychotic disorder more likely to be determined incompetent WASHINGTON—People found incompetent to stand trial are more likely to be unemployed, have been previously diagnosed with a psychotic disorder or have had psychiatric hospitalization, according to an analysis of 50 years of research, published by the American Psychological Association. “Competency to [...]
Youngest among poor and abused children face highest risk WASHINGTON—Infants and toddlers can suffer serious mental health disorders, yet they are unlikely to receive treatment that could prevent lasting developmental problems, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. One barrier to mental health care for young children is “the pervasive, but mistaken, impression [...]
WASHINGTON—Lifestyle changes—such as getting more exercise, time in nature, or helping others—can be as effective as drugs or counseling to treat an array of mental illnesses, according to a new paper published by the American Psychological Association. Multiple mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, can be treated with certain lifestyle changes as successfully as [...]
ARLINGTON, Va. (Feb. 15, 2011)—A study of nearly 300 women with bipolar disorder showed that those reporting flare-ups of mood symptoms before menstruation had more depressive episodes and more severe symptoms during the following year, compared with bipolar women without premenstrual mood changes. The study was part of the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar [...]
Psychotic illness occurs significantly earlier among marijuana users, results of a meta-analysis suggest. Data on more than 22,000 patients with psychosis showed an onset of symptoms almost three years earlier among users of cannabis compared with patients who had no history of substance use. The age of onset also was earlier in cannabis users compared [...]
WASHINGTON—Talking with your hands can trigger mental images that help solve complex problems relating to spatial visualization, an important skill for both students and professionals, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. Spatial visualization is the ability to mentally rotate or move an object to a different position or view. An air [...]