The discovery of a novel molecular switch that powerfully modulates nerve cell activity offers the potential for new mood disorder and epilepsy treatments, University of California, Irvine researchers report.
The researchers looked at the role of the natural substance cholecystokinin (CCK) in modulating communication between cells in the brain. CCK, originally isolated from the [...]
The helpless behavior that is commonly linked to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is preceded by stress-related losses of synapses-microscopic connections between brain cells-in the brain’s hippocampal region, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report in the March 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry.
The team used a six-day treatment with the antidepressant desipramine [...]
People who carry a particular genetic variation are more likely to respond to stress by becoming depressed and by ruminating on the event, according to a study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, and the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
Prior research identified a genetic variation within the serotonin transporter [...]
Can the large collective practice of a scientifically documented stress-reducing meditation technique positively impact a larger population through the “field effects of consciousness”–reducing societal stress, crime, and violence, and improving economic and climatic trends?
Yes, according to a rigorous, controlled econometric analysis of the first 100 days of a $12 million scientific demonstration project [...]
Children whose parents and families are under ongoing stress have more fevers with illness than other children. Published this month in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the study also shows the unanticipated conclusion that children’s natural killer cell function, part of the body’s innate immune system, increases under chronic stress, unlike adults, whose [...]
Infants and preschool-aged children who live in daily circumstances of potential trauma and danger can develop the resilience to cope through treatment that focuses on strengthening parent-child bonds, according to a national expert in child development.
Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Francisco, Alicia Lieberman, PhD, [...]
You couldn’t ignore the news if you tried. The economic crisis is all over magazines, newspapers and television news programs. So, it’s no wonder people are feeling anxious and stressed out.
But women may be reacting more strongly than men. A recent survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) called “Stress in America” says [...]
Though effective treatments are available for individuals suffering from chronic depression and anxiety, very little is known about how often these treatments are used or how prevalent these conditions are among the nation’s general population.
But in a first-of-its-kind study, UCLA researchers have developed estimates for both the prevalence of chronic psychiatric illness in [...]
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Behaviour Therapy (BT) show some effect in helping the disability associated with chronic pain, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review. The researchers assessed the use of CBT and BT on chronic pain, mood, and disability.
“For people with chronic pain, psychological therapies can reduce depression and anxiety, disability, and [...]
An estimated 35.1 million Americans live in “food insecure” households, meaning that at some time during the previous year they were unable to obtain or were uncertain of having enough food to fulfill their basic needs. Consequently, many of those people seek aid from federal sources including the Food Stamp Program. Now, a University of [...]
