Psychologist Calls Attention to Social Media as a Public Health Hazard

In New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ State of the City speech, he discussed protecting kids’ mental health in the face of excessive social media usage.  Dr. Anthony Anzalone, a clinical psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine, also agrees that social media…

Protein p53 regulates learning, memory, sociability in mice

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have established the protein p53 as critical for regulating sociability, repetitive behavior, and hippocampus-related learning and memory in mice, illuminating the relationship between the protein-coding gene TP53 and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center Now Offers Electroconvulsive Therapy As Part of $30 Million Investment To Expand Its Behavioral Health Services

“There is a lot of misperception and misinformation about ECT,” said Arunesh K. Mishra, MD, central region chair of psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian Health, who treats behavioral health conditions and has used ECT therapy as a treatment option. “It is an option for people with severe depression and other psychiatric disorders that have not been satisfactorily treated by other therapies.”

New study sheds light on complex genetics of autism in East African families

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified hundreds of genomic variants associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in East African families who have a markedly higher prevalence of the neurodevelopmental condition than other populations worldwide. The study, published in Cell Genomics, is the first to investigate the genetics of ASD in an African population, an important step toward decreasing racial and ethnic health disparities for this condition, the authors said.

Poor sleep can lead to long-term health problems for older adults, UTSW specialists say

It’s a common misconception that older adults need less sleep than those younger, but many get fewer hours due to insomnia and various health problems, including sleep apnea and heart trouble. In addition to a reduced quality of life, long-term health consequences of poor sleep include high blood pressure, weight gain, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, memory problems, and even increased risk of death, said Deborah Freeland, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and a member of UTSW’s Division of Geriatric Medicine.

UT Southwestern Q&A: Experts offer tips on talking to kids about traumatic events

Following the latest mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, on Saturday and other violent incidents across the country, parents may find themselves trying to navigate difficult conversations with their children. What to say is just as important as what not to say, according to experts at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Children are naturally curious and may have questions, or they may be worried about their own safety.

UT Southwestern Q&A: Experts offer tips on talking to kids about school shootings, other traumatic events

After a school shooting like the one that occurred in Nashville, parents may find themselves trying to navigate difficult conversations with their children. What to say is just as important as what not to say, according to experts at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Children are naturally curious and may have questions, or they may be worried about their own safety.

New UTHealth Houston school to train behavioral health workers receives approval from UT System, state

The new UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences has been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and unanimously by The University of Texas System Board of Regents, moving the university closer to establishing a seventh school.

UC Davis study uncovers age-related brain differences in autistic individuals

Differences in genes involved in inflammation, immunity response and neural transmissions begin in childhood and evolve across the lifespan in brains of people with autism, a UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

Researchers Uncover Mechanisms of Brexanolone and the Role of Inflammation in Post-partum Depression

Brexanolone, an IV infusion comprised of a derivative of progesterone, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of PPD in 2019. The fast-acting medication significantly reduces depression symptoms and provides effects for up to 90 days. However, exactly how the drug provides these therapeutic effects has remained a mystery – until now.

Over $5M Awarded to Community Violence Reduction Programs at Penn Medicine

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) awarded over $5 million in grants to three community violence prevention and intervention programs across Penn Medicine. The Penn Medicine programs not only aim to reduce and prevent community violence, but also address the lasting impacts of violence on victims, such as treating their mental health, and helping them utilize social service agencies.

Head trauma doesn’t predict memory problems in NFL retirees, UT Southwestern study shows

A study of retired professional football players by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that their cognitive abilities did not differ significantly from a control group of similarly aged men who did not play football, nor did those abilities show significant change over one to five years. The findings were published in Brain Injury.

Q&A: How AI can help people be more empathetic about mental health

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington studied how artificial intelligence could help people on the platform TalkLife, where people give each other mental health support. The researchers developed an AI system that suggested changes to participants’ responses to make them more empathetic. The best responses resulted from a collaboration between AI and people.

Brain’s Sensitivity to Different Types of Regret May Impact Mood Disorders Like Depression, Mount Sinai Researchers Find

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have learned that the way the brain processes the complex emotion of regret may be linked to an individual’s ability to cope with stress, and altered in psychiatric disorders like depression.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Completes 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment to Help Understand and Strengthen Its Neighborhood

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) completed the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), part of the hospital’s continual commitment to better understand the health of its primary “neighborhood” – Los Angeles County – and the people who live there. The CHNA takes a deep dive into the community’s health and social needs enabling the hospital to implement strategies to address the key areas of the report’s findings.

1 in 2 Black adolescents faced online racial discrimination at least once in 2020: study

Against the backdrop of racial tensions across America in late 2020, online platforms became a place of discussion, discourse and even protest. Through this time period, Black adolescents experienced a different effect than their white peers; they more distinctly suffered mental health issues after being confronted with online racial discrimination, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.

DMIND Application for Screening Depression – An AI Innovation from CU Faculties of Medicine and Engineering Researchers

Introducing a new dimension for consultations with those suffering from depression by the Department of Mental Health and the DMIND AI Innovation from Chula’s Faculties of Medicine and Engineering that provides screening for depression through the Mor Prom Application with greater accuracy, accessibility, and convenience thus reducing the burdens on medical practitioners and psychologists in taking care of patients with depression.

Research reveals how brain inflammation may link Alzheimer’s risk, sleep disturbance

A multisite research team from the University of California, Irvine, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Wake Forest University has discovered that brain inflammation may link Alzheimer’s disease risk with sleep disturbance, which may aid early detection and prevention efforts by identifying novel treatment targets at preclinical stages.

Mount Sinai Launches the Brain and Body Research Center, Among the First in the U.S.to Focus Solely on How the Brain and Body Interact

Have you ever experienced a stressful time in your life and then caught a cold, or wondered why you feel sad and depressed when you’re sick? It turns out that it’s not all in your head.

Recent research spanning the fields of neuroscience and immunology suggests that when the brain senses a threat in the environment—whether it be physical, psychological, or social—it sends signals via a complex network of peripheral nerves that mobilize the immune system, readying it to protect us from injury.

Schizophrenia Study Suggests Advanced Genetic Scorecard Cannot Predict a Patient’s Fate

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that a tool commonly used in research for evaluating a person’s genetic risk for a disease, called a polygenic risk score, was no better at predicting the outcome of a schizophrenia patient’s disease over time than written reports. The results raise important questions about the use of polygenic risk scores in real-world, clinical situations, and also suggest that a doctor’s written report may be an untapped source of predictive information.