Do violent video games impact the brain or not? There hasn’t been much science to show a prolonged negative neurological effect.

But a new study recently presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North American found changes in brain of young men who played such games for a week.

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging and found some changes in the brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control after one week of play.

“For the first time, we have found that a sample of randomly assigned young adults showed less activation in certain frontal brain regions following a week of playing violent video games at home,” said Dr. Yang Wang, assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, in a statement. “These brain regions are important for controlling emotion and aggressive behavior.”

Wang look at 22 healthy adult males, age 18 to 29, who hadn’t played many such video games. One group of 11 played a shooting game for 10 hour in one week and then took a week off. The second group didn’t play at all. Their brains were imaged at the beginning and end, and those who played the games showed less activation in the brain compared with their baseline results and the results of those who didn’t play the games.

“These findings indicate that violent video game play has a long-term effect on brain functioning,” Dr. Wang said.

Do you believe it?

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Categories: Mental health
        

According to a new ranking, Maryland is No. 1 when it comes to brain health.

The ranking is by the people who make life’sDHA nutritional supplements and the National Center for Creative Aging, a nonprofit affiliated with George Washington University. It’s part of a campaign called Beautiful Minds: Finding Your Lifelong Potential, and aims to push people to develop and maintain healthy minds.

To develop the key indicators for the index, the groups worked with doctors, including Dr. Majid Fotuhi chairman of the Neurology Institute for Brain Health and Fitness and an assistant professor of neurology at John Hopkins School of Medicine. The 21 factors included diet, exercise, mention health, physical health and social well-being.

Maryland had high consumption of DHA-rich fish, low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease related death. The state, however, did have a lower level of religious and spiritual activities and a relatively high rate of diabetes.

“As the country experiences unprecedented increase in life expectancy to 78 years — an increase of 30 percent over the past century — the knowledge that we can influence brain health and cognition throughout life is more important than ever,” Fotuhi said in a statement. “The largest aging population in history will experience the most longevity of any generation, which means taking action to improve our brain health should be a high priority on the health checklist for all of us.”

Following Maryland on the brainy list were Washington, D.C., Washington State, Colorado and Vermont. At the bottom of the list were Mississippi and Louisiana.

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Categories: Mental health
        

State and local health officials are offering some tips to people who may feel stressed or anxious because of the impending hurricane.

They say surviving a disaster can make people feel dazed or numb or sad or helpful or anxious. Some people have bad dreams or have trouble sleeping or focusing. Tempers can flare. All of this is normal.

The officials say the feelings may come right away or not come until the crisis is over, and it will take time to feel better.

Here are some steps:

+Follow a normal routine to the extent you can. Don’t skip meals or overeat. Exercise and stay busy, even volunteer in the community. Also, accept help from family and friends.

+Talk about your feeling with family, friends or clergy. Don’t dwell on the tragedy by listening or reading about it too much.

+Ask for help if you can’t take care of your children or are not able to work, are using alcohol or drugs to escape or feel sad or depressed more than two weeks or think about suicide.

+Refer people having trouble coping to a counselor, doctor or community organization. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.

Baltimore Sun file photo/Jed Kirschbaum

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Categories: Mental health
        

We do crunches to exercise our abs and lunges to tighten our thighs.

But what about working out our brain?

Studies have shown that exercising the brain can help with memory, analytical skills and other cognitive abilities that decline with age. A new store that opened at The Mall in Columbia last week sets out to help us do just that.

Marbles the Brain Store is located on the first level near Nordstrom. The retailer specializes in games that challenge the brain's visual perception, memory and concentration among other functions, said CEO and founder Lindsay Gaskins.

"By learning new things and challenging your brain in different ways you can create new neurons and new neurological connections," Gaskins said.

One game sold at the store is Quatro. It is much like tic-tac-toe, but you have to get four in a row instead of three. Gaskins said it makes the brain think about the game in a different way.

Marbles also has six stores in Chicago and three in Minnesota. The retailer will open another location at Montgomery Mall next month.

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Categories: Mental health
        

One in 30 Marylanders have a gambling problem, according to a report released Monday by state health officials.

The report concluded that nearly 90 percent of Marylanders has ever gambled with about 22 percent gambling monthly in the past year and 15 percent gambling weekly in the past year. For most it’s a positive experience, but about 3.4 percent are pathological or problem gamblers, meaning they have lost some control or continue gambling despite adverse consequences.

The General Assembly ordered the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to study the issue as slot machine facilities open around the state, and officials plan to use the results to design prevention and treatment programs.

The study of 56,807 households was lead by the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in along with the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy. Data was collected between Sept. 7 and Oct. 31. Most people said they gambled to win money or have fun.

Those seeking assistance now from trained counselors can call the Maryland Problem Gambling Helpline at 800-522-4700.

“The study helps us understand the extent of problem and pathological gambling in Maryland prior to the opening of casinos in Maryland in 2010,” said Dr. Tom Cargiulo, Director of the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, in a statement. “The results will help us design the next steps directed towards preventing and treating gambling disorders.”

The state approved slot machine gambling in 2007 and it was approved by voters in 2008. 

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Categories: Mental health
        

Everyone probably knows how physically demanding it is to wait tables or work in a restaurant. But just how mentally demanding do you think it is? 

The owner of Sotto Sopra, the mainstay Italian place on Charles Street, thinks it's plenty tough on the mind. That's why he's added meditation and Tai Chi to staff training.

Chef-owner Riccardo Bosio says the entire front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house staff will participate in an hour-long session after lunch service on Saturday. They will learn proper movement and mind-set to handle “what can be a prolonged high-stress situation with focus and grace.”

Bosio believes this not only will help the staff, but will mean better service.

Heard of other ways restaurants are coping with us, the customers?

AFP/Getty file photo of World Tai Chi Day

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Categories: Mental health
        

We connect so much with our book friends Harry Potter and Edward when we read about them that we, psychologically speaking, become wizards and vampires, according to new research.

A study at the University of Buffalo shows that we become submerged enough in the fantasy to satisfy our need for human connection. And we get the same sense of satisfaction and happiness that we’d get if we were actually part of those worlds, said authors Shira Gabriel, an associate professor of psychology, and Ariana Young, a graduate student.

“Social connection is a strong, human need,” Gabriel said in a statement, “and anytime we feel connected to others, we feel good in general, and feel good about our lives. Our study results demonstrate that the assimilation of a narrative allows us to feel close to others in the comfort of our own space and at our own convenience.”

The researchers tested the theory on 140 students who read for 30 minutes from “Happy Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” or “Twilight.” Then they answered questions that tested their conscious and unconscious responses.

Harry Potter readers identified with wizards and their world and Twilight readers identified with vampires and their world. They also adopted attitudes and behaviors – though no one tried to suck blood or fly on a broom, they noted.

The study, called Becoming a Vampire Without Being Bitten: The Narrative Collective Assimilation Hypothesis, was published in the current issue journal Psychological Science.

So, do you believe you are a wizard or a vampire, or just friends with one?

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Categories: Mental health
        

Many people were moved to gather in Washington and New York and cheer the death of Osama bin Laden. They sang the national anthem. They chanted “U.S.A.” Newspaper headlines, including The Sun’s screamed “Dead”.

But what is the normal response? How should the victim’s families feel?

There isn’t one answer, said Anne E. Brodsky, associate chair and associate professor in the University of Maryland Baltimore County department of psychology. (Here are some reactions from victims' family.)

And that goes for Americans and for those who were victims of his terror network around the world.
“Some will feel a sense of justice, others will find it a painful continuation of a cycle of violence,” said Brodsky, whose work has focused on risks to and resilience of Afghan women under the Taliban.

Some 9/11 family members formed a group called September 11 Families for Peace, advocating for “nonviolence and adherence to the rule of law in the pursuit of justice and accountability.”

She said she doubts they feel satisfaction in bin Laden’s death as a form of vengeance. But some Afghans will feel joy because he brought so much pain and suffering to their country. Others, she said will fear that this is not the end.

“I don't think any news of [bin Laden] could fail to open wounds and memories for many here in the U.S. and around the world,” she said. “How people cope with this last chapter for this one man, where we will go from here, and what is healthy for any individual, family, community or nation remains to be seen.”

What was your response? What is appropriate?

Getty Images photo

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Categories: Mental health
        

The web is buzzing about actress Catherine Zeta-Jones' confirmation that she was treated for biopolar disorder II. The Los Angeles Times writers for the Booster Shoots blog have a detailed post on what the disorder is and how it differs from biopolar disorder I:
"People with bipolar II swing from severe depression to a milder and briefer manic state called hypomania. They aren't impaired to the extent that folks with bipolar I can be."
Read more here.

Our area hospitals have informational pages on the disorder as well. Johns Hopkins Epidemiology - Genetic Program in Psychiatry program offers a definition and resources here, and the University of Maryland Medical Center's bipolar resources page is here.

Has anyone suffered from or know someone who's suffered from the disorder? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Posted by Kim Walker at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Mental health
        

Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have found a genetic reason some people may attempt suicide.

The link was found in a small region on chromosome 2 that contains four genes, including the ACP1 gene. Those people with more than normal levels of ACP1 protein in the brain were more likely to attempt suicide, the researchers said.

The findings, reported in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, may lead to a new kind of treatment.
“We have long believed that genes play a role in what makes the difference between thinking about suicide and actually doing it,” Virginia L. Willour, study leaders and an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a statement.

She and other researchers studied the DNA of thousands of people with bipolar disorder. More extra protein meant a higher likelihood the people would attempt suicide. The protein is thought to influence the same biological pathway as lithium, which is used to reduce suicidal behavior but has side effects that mean not everyone can take it.

An estimated 1.4 percent of Americans die from suicide and about 4.6 percent of people have tried to kill themselves at least once, the researchers said. For those with bipolar disorder, the percentage who think about suicide is 47 percent, with a quarter actually trying.

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Categories: Mental health
        

Some 900 recently incarcerated people returning to Baltimore County will get behavior health services under a $350,000, three-year grant from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission.

The money awarded to the Baltimore County Department of Health, will support its “re-entry” program – much like previous grants (totaling $1 million) to Baltimore City, Harford and Prince George’s counties.

“Thanks to the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission for giving us the means to provide a needed service,” said County Executive Kamenetz, in a statement. “Thanks also to the Departments of Health and Corrections for their ongoing, collaborative efforts to serve one of our most vulnerable populations. This grant will support a new approach to release modeled after previous successful re-entry programs.”

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said that the program for the recently incarcerated can help reduce recidivism rates by helping those re-entering the community to adjust.

The Maryland Community Health Resources Commission has awarded 78 grants, totaling $21.6 million, in the past five years around the state. They provide health services to more than 81,000 residents of the state in the areas of primary care, dental care, infant mortality and behavior health.

Baltimore County has gotten tow other grants from the commission, to help improve birth outcomes and expand a school-based health center program.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Mental health
        

An L.A.-based company that makes a “stress relieving” drink filled with gingko biloba and lemongrass says it's offering Charlie Sheen a $3 million deal to endorse its product – in exchange for getting off TV and going to 30 days of "in-patient treatment" at his own Sober Valley Lodge in Beverly Hills.

The company, The Chill Group, says the sitcom star could use the money because he’s losing some $8 million with the cancelation of “Two and a Half Men” for the season. He also appears to need some rehab after his public troubles that include admitted drug use. And the company believes he could also benefit from drinking Just Chill.

“If there's one thing that's clear, it's that this guy needs to relax,” said Russell Fager, general manager of the Chill Group, in a statement. “We've watched him spiral out of control and accompanied by treatment, we think Just Chill will help him focus on whatever his next steps turn out to be. If this is successful we think he'd be a great spokesperson for the brand.”

Sober Valley is Sheen's own Beverly Hills home, where he claims to have healed himself of addiction "with the power of my mind." Anyone think 30 days locked in his house with beverages will help this guy? 

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Mental health
        

Social networks may not be for the broken hearted.

An 18-year-old man, depressed after his girlfriend broke up with him, appears to have had asthma attacks brought on by logging into the social media site, five Italian doctors wrote in the journal Lancet.

She had deleted him from her page and “friended” other men. The former boyfriend used a new name to become friends with her again so he could see this.

The site seemed to induce shortness of breath each time he looked, wrote the doctors.

“The [man's] mother was advised to ask him to measure the peak expiratory flow before and after internet login and, indeed, ‘post-Facebook’ values were reduced, with a variability of more than 20 percent,” wrote Dr. Gennaro D'Amato of the High Speciality Hospital A Cardarelli in Naples, Italy.

“In collaboration with a psychiatrist, the patient resigned not to login to Facebook any longer and the asthma attacks stopped.”

Once the doctors took a full history and physical exam, they concluded it was seeing the girlfriend on Facebook that triggered the attacks. They concluded that social networks could be a new source of psychological stress and should be considered by doctors assessing others with asthma.

Has Facebook or another social network caused you stress?

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Categories: Mental health
        

It sounds a little like that movie Men in Black, where government operatives were able to zap people's memories. Johns Hopkins researchers say they may be able to permanently erase bad memories.  

And while they did use some government funding from the National Institutes of Health, it doesn't appear the work is for national security. The researchers say the work in mice holds promise for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

They have figured out that removing a protein from the region of the brain responsible for recalling fear means they can permanently delete traumatic memories. A report appears this week in Science Express.

 “When a traumatic event occurs, it creates a fearful memory that can last a lifetime and have a debilitating effect on a person's life,” said Richard L. Huganir, professor and director of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, in a statement.

“Our finding describing these molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in that process raises the possibility of manipulating those mechanisms with drugs to enhance behavioral therapy for such conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder.”

That behavioral therapy involves “extinction training,” or easing the depth of the emotional response to the bad memories but not completely removing the memory. The researchers say that, combined with protein removal, may mean permanent removal of fear by erasing the memory itself.

They used sound cues to put fear in mice as a test.

“This may sound like science fiction, the ability to selectively erase memories,” said Huganir. “But this may one day be applicable for the treatment of debilitating fearful memories in people, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome associated with war, rape or other traumatic events.”

Erasing memories sound like a good thing or kind of scary?

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Categories: Mental health
        

Much attention was given to the physical well-being of the 33 Chilean miners as they were rescued throughout the day -- they were given oxygen masks, sunglasses and warm clothing for the 2,000-foot ride to the surface, and they were hurried to a medical tent for a check up.

But as important in the aftermath will be their mental health, said Dr. George S. Everly Jr., an associate professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a faculty member at the Center for Public Health Preparedness in the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Everly has studied disaster medicine for 30 years, authoring two books on the subject and a report for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on escape and rescue from mine disasters.

He said there are two issues – the immediate problems that can surface after rescue, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and the longer-term problems associated with the let down the miners may feel when the euphoria and media attention fade.

“They’re a special lot to begin with,” Everly said in an interview about miners who agree to put themselves in such a confining and dangerous situation.

That should help many of them resist post-traumatic stress disorder. And the more they believe, rightly or wrongly, that their company did what it could to protect them, the better off they are likely to be -- same for the effort that the government put into their rescue.

The fact that no one died or was seriously hurt will also help them bond and be resilient. And it will mean they avoid survivor’s guilt, he said.

Still, he said, 25 percent of people involved in large disaster situations develop post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

“It’s not just exposure, but something else,” he said. “That something else is the Holy Grail of the [disaster mental health] field. We don’t know exactly what it is. But it’s when the glue that holds our world together for us is gone; when our belief system is violated.”

Continue reading "Chilean miners may suffer mentally from ordeal" »

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Categories: Mental health
        

NBC's "Parenthood" (10 p.m. Tuesdays) returned for the fall season last week, and one of its strongest storylines continued to be how the Braverman family is handling young Max's Asperger's diagnosis.

I found Max's story eye-opening. But I was curious about what members of the autism community thought of the show's treatment of the syndrome, which is classified as an autism spectrum disorder. Lauren Presti, director of Therapeutic Integration and Social Skills Program at Trellis Services, Inc. in Hunt Valley, shared her thoughts. I also want to hear from you. Have you seen the show? What's your reaction to the storyline? Share your opinion in the comments.

How do you feel about the show's depiction overall of the boy with Asperger's and how his family is handling it? Are there any parts that ring particularly true or false?

When we, the audience, were first introduced to Max we were able to see his lack of peer relationships with his classmates, his lack of social skills, and his inflexible thinking about day to day routines.  He became agitated when his schedule changed or when he was asked to focus on something separate from his fixation points (whether that be his animals or another science fact he is stuck on).  Max in these ways reminded me of some of the clients I have worked with over the years in therapy and in Social Skills Groups. For a majority of students on the spectrum, it is difficult to break away from a preferred item or topic, to show empathy, to develop peer relationships, and to change a schedule.  In other words, they are very inflexible in their way of thinking about others and how they relate to others or the world around them. 

"Parenthood" also gives its audience an insight into the family dynamic. We could see how the entire family responded to Max's diagnosis and struggled as a whole in adjusting work and school schedules as well as daily home routines. In my own experience, I have had parents like Max's mother who completely break down in intake or call to express their frustrations with the different therapies, diets, schools, etc. they are juggling for the benefit of their child. The frustration in the mother and even the father made the depiction incredibly true in my perspective. I would say, on the behalf of many of the families I have worked with over the years, it's the support given [that rang] false. We saw Max's parents go to a renown therapist (only after a few phone calls), receive support from his school system for a private program immediately and in ABA therapy sessions within a very short time. Although services and therapies are becoming more accessible, especially in Maryland, families are frustrated with waiting lists, funding options, IEP disagreements, and the general education about Autism in the schools.  

Continue reading "NBC's 'Parenthood' offers look into life with Asperger's" »

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Categories: Mental health
        

Those who practice yoga probably already know this, but a new study shows that yoga improves mood -- even more than walking.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine studied believe that have demonstrated a link between yoga postures and increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety. Their finding are published online in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric, levels in the brain are associated with mood -- low levels are found in those with depression and anxiety disorders.

The researchers used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to compare the GABA levels in the brains of those practiced yoga three times a week for an hour and those who walked instead. During the 12-week study, those who did yoga had climbing GABA levels.  

They also reported at several points during the study that their anxierty was decreasing and mood was improving.  

Lead study author, Dr. Chris Streeter, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the university, said the research is promising and warrants further study. Yoga could be consideered potential therapy for certain mental disorders, he said.  

Any yogis out there see such an increase in mood? How about walkers?

Los Angeles Time photo

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Mental health
        

As the wars continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Veterans Affairs can be sure of something: more people will leave the military in need of long-term medical care – and long-term mental health care.

Robert A. Petzel, undersecretary for health at the VA, was in Baltimore for a meeting of mental health professionals trying to get up to speed on the latest treatments and services, and I was able to quiz him on the latest efforts to care for former service members. Joining in the discussion was Sonja V. Batten, Assistant Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health.

They told me that the agency has been working to bolster its staff of mental health professionals – adding 6,000 staffers from the field in the last four years, bringing the total to 20,673.

The VA has also added a suicide prevention hotline, which has taken 293,000 calls in the last two years, referred 35,000 callers to a suicide prevention coordinator and rescued 9,700 of those in immediate crisis.

But the number of those on active duty taking their own lives is, not surprisingly, rising. And many more are coming home from combat distressed. 

For post traumatic stress disorders, almost 366,000 vets were treated in fiscal 2009. That number is also rising. There were almost 255,000 treated in fiscal 2006. Of course, during conflicts, there will be more PTSD – as estimated 30 percent of those who served in Vietnam, for example, experienced PTSD and 10 percent of those in the Gulf War did. (About 6.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some time in their lives.)

Officials say a main reason the numbers are going up now is because screening has gotten better. But certainly more vets need care.

Continue reading "More vets getting mental health care, more need care" »

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Categories: Mental health
        

Wouldn't we all like to pop a smart pill from time to time?

Dr. Robert Schwarcz at the University of Maryland is working on it. See today's Sun for the full story on the smart pill. But basically, he made a connection between cognition and kynurenic acid, which is made in the brain after eating certain foods.

It may be possible to make a drug that blocks development of the acid, which interferes with brain receptors that stimulate memory and learning. The problem is, tryptophan, which triggers the acid production, also triggers production of serotonin, which we need to regulate mood and sleep.

So, the drug companies who are using Dr. Schwarcz' research to develop a drug have to ensure they didn't cause us to be smart but unhappy.

If they discover this drug, and it's approved by the government down the road -- a big maybe -- it could also be used to treat people with memory disorders such as Alzheimer's and schizophrenia. But Dr. Schwarcz' research so far has been in health people.

So, would you take such a drug, if there weren't significant side effects? How often do you think you'd want to take it? For projects, for trivia night, to go win big on a game show? Would that be ethical? Would there be sports-style doping, as one doctor suggested was a posibility? Should it be reserved for people with medical problems? 

Baltimore Sun photo of Dr. Schwarcz

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Mental health
        

The damage from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico isn't just financial and environmental. It's emotional.

A researcher from the University of Maryland was surprised by the depth of the psychological damage done to communities – even before the oil reached their shores.

Lynn Grattan, a neuro-psychologist, joined a colleague from Florida in studying a fishing community called Apalachicola for about a week. The slick had not yet made it there, but the levels of stress and anxiety were obvious, she said.

“You could see and feel it in every restaurant and shop, at every town meeting,” said Grattan, an associate professor of neurology, psychiatry, epidemiology and public health. “Where ever people gathered, it’s discussed. It’s a community in crisis.”

She said some fisherman had already lost their jobs because of the impacts to the industry as a whole. And some were working for BP on prevention measures, such as laying booms to capture oil before it reached the shores. But the oil wasn't yet there.

And while Grattan was expecting some increase in stress levels, she was struck by the level it had already reached. They were worried about their financial future, the safety of consuming shrimp and oysters and also the environment and wildlife, including the population of turtles that lived there.

She plans to analyze her data this week to see the actual level of distress. The information will be compared with that from a community that has been exposed to oil. The researchers plan to visit that community next week.

Then, all of the data will be used to help care for the affected areas – and it will be used to help people who suffer in future disasters.

There has only been limited data collected on the mental well-being of communities after oil spills. But Grattan said public health officials did discover that those in Alaska impacted by the Exxon Valdez spill suffered effects for up to four years after the spill.

“We hope to develop effective communications and outreach to minimize the impacts,” she said. “Based upon what we find, we’ll use the best available knowledge to plan outreach and intervention for the current communities. And what we learn hopefully will help future communities coping with disaster.”

Grattan said she’d report back in a week or so when she has actual data to share.

NASA photo via the Associated Press of Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings from eggs saved from the Gulf Coast and release into the Atlantic Ocean

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Mental health
        

Young children who see someone close to them in handcuffs are in danger of mental health issues, according to a recent study.

A University of Illinois at Chicago study found that children in the nation's child welfare system who witnessed the arrest of a household member may have been psychologically traumatized by the event.

Susan D. Phillips, assistant professor of social work and the study's lead author, found that children who saw the arrest of a household member had elevated symptoms of posttraumatic stress or PTS -- a psychological response to witnessing a traumatic or life-threatening event.

The psychological response was found even after accounting for other factors that might explain the condition, such as maltreatment or child abuse, the study found.

Phillips suggests mental health professionals should be regularly screening to see if children have witnessed an arrest of someone they lived with and get them the help they need.

Data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being was used to examine the experiences of children ages 8 and up who were suspected victims of child abuse and neglect.

Posted by Andrea Walker at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Mental health
        

Research has found that dark chocolate -- in small does -- can actually be good for you. In fact, just a few weeks ago, we reported on a study that found the sweet stuff can lower blood pressure.

Now, of course, a different study hints at a downside.

People with depression appear to consume more chocolate than people who don't, according to new research appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine. 

The study, by University of California Davis researchers, probed the link between chocolate and mood. Researchers asked 913 men and women, who were not taking antidepressants, how much chocolate they ate.

People who screened positive for depression consumed an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month, while those who weren't depressed had 5.4 servings per month. People with higher scores on the screening tests -- which indicate major depression -- ate even more chocolate, 11.8 servings per month. Results were similar for men and women alike.

So what does it all mean? Is eating chocolate related to depression?

The study can't say for certain. It doesn't reflect causality, the researchers are quick to note. But the findings could underscore what many of us already believe -- when we have the blues we reach for the sweets. Chocolate is comfort food to so many people, the connection is practically cliche.

Continue reading "Say it ain't so: Study links chocolate to depression" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Diet and exercise, Mental health
        

Now that it's no longer so cold and dark, do you have a big smile on your face? Do you have the urge to skip work and lay in the grass?  

Two University of North Carolina medical professionals looked at the phenomenon and say: yes, seasons do affect our mood. And "spring fever" is real.

Well, sort of.

“It depends on what you mean by 'real,'” Jon Abramowitz, professor and associate chair of psychology at the University of North Carolina, told the university. 

“When the weather turns warm, people are definitely tired of being cooped up, and they get excited about the warm weather and getting to do stuff outside,” he said.

According to the university, he says excitement may trigger the brain to secrete endorphins. Those are the chemicals that give you that sense of well being. They chemically resemble morphine, the narcotic derived from poppies.

Exercise may also contribute to spring fever: “Exercise is just as good as antidepressants for depression,” Abramowitz said.

Dr. Thomas Koonce, associate medical director at the UNC Family Medical Center, told the university that more sunlight may just help end the winter blues. Lack of daylight can cause depression because of changes in levels of melatonin, which helps regulate sleep.

He added that there isn't much scientific evidence that spring puts people in the mood for love. 

Continue reading "Is there such a thing as 'spring fever'?" »

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Mental health
        

We tend to think of vaccines as preventing traditional infectious diseases like measles or viruses like the flu. But what if one could get a shot to prevent drug users from getting high?

New research on an anti-cocaine vaccine shows that such a shot reduced cocaine use in 38 percent of people vaccinated with it. While that figure may not sound significant -- far from full abstinence -- it's an important finding in what will likely be a long road of research toward a vaccine.

The study done by Yale researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health appears in the latest issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry . It examines cocaine addiction from a purely medical standpoint. Like vaccines that fight infectious diseases, an inoculation against cocaine stimulates the body to produce antibodies, the study states. The antibodies bind themselves to cocaine molecules in the blood and prevent them from allow the drug to enter into the brain. Fascinating.

The study randomly assigned 115 people to receive the cocaine vaccine or a placebo over 12 weeks. Since a minority of people developed antibodies, researchers think a booster shot might help increase the response.

Continue reading "Cocaine vaccine shows promise in reducing addiction" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Mental health
        

Earlier, I blogged about a report on children as young as 3 being diagnosed with depression. Well, another mental health study this week is sparking lots of discussion: the number of Americans taking antidepressants increased from about 6 percent in 1996 to 10 percent in 2005, or from 13 million to about 27 million people.

Meanwhile, the number of people being treated with antidepressants who also sought help from a therapist declined. Researchers think high out-of-pocket costs and insurance barriers could be to blame. The paper's lead researcher said he worries that patients who only receive medication may be not be getting enough help.

The study, of nearly 50,000 people, which appears in the latest issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, found the use increased in adults and children alike. Racial and ethnic minorities, however, were less likely to take antidepressants, an example of broader disparities in mental health treatment, researchers said. 

The authors think the rise is likely due to a number of factors including: an increase in the incidence of major depression and more drugs flooding the market to treat it, campaigns promoting better mental health care and a lessening stigma attached to mental illness and antidepressants. 

Continue reading "More mental health news: antidepressant use doubles" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Mental health
        

In recent years, childhood depression has received a lot of attention as researchers have tried to unravel how the disorder affects kids. But little is known about if, and how, depression strikes very young children. A new study suggests that children as young as 3 can be diagnosed with depression and that the disorder is often a chronic condition.

The study, which appears in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, is sure to raise eyebrows among people who question if children that young are emotionally mature enough to be depressed. The study's authors say that despite skepticism, a growing body of research suggests that depression does exist among preschoolers and they launched the study to better understand it.

The authors studied 306 children 3 to 6 years old, including 75 of them diagnosed with depression, and evaluated them for up to two years. Preschoolers with depression at the beginning of the study were four times more likely to have depression 12 or 24 months later  than children who were not depressed at the study's start. 

Continue reading "Depression in preschoolers" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Mental health, Pediatrics