Functional MRI Predicts Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Soldiers

About 20% of US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are psychologically damaged, according to a Washington Post study. A substantial number of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which carries with it a high rate of suicide.

But doctors will now be able to forecast a soldier’s risk of developing PTSD, with the chance of intervening to prevent military-related suicides. Prof. Talma Hendler of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Psychology and Psychiatry and the founding director of the Tel Aviv Functional Brain Center have developed a new predictive tool for detecting at-risk soldiers.

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New Study Explores Postpartum Depression and Suicidal Thoughts

When a new mother suffers from postpartum depression, she may experience thoughts of committing suicide. A new two-year study found that for women contemplating taking their own lives, the mother-infant relationship and development was a negative experience, accompanied by mood disturbances, low maternal self-esteem, negative perceptions of their effectiveness as parents, and noticeably less responsiveness to their infants’ cues.

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Brain Defect Could Predict Onset of Schizophrenia

In the first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of its kind, neurologists and psychiatrists at Columbia University have identified an area of the brain involved in the earliest stages of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.

Activity in this specific region of the hippocampus may help predict the onset of the disease, offering opportunities for earlier diagnosis and for the development of drugs for schizophrenia prevention.

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Anxiety, Depression, and Substance Abuse May Be More Common Than We Think

A new study finds that anxiety, depression, and substance abuse may be twice as high in as the mental health community has been led to believe, due to the vast amount of people who don’t report or aren’t asked about their problems.

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Mental Disorders Beyond Depression Can Lead to Suicide

Suicidal behavior is something doctors and loved ones often look for in depressive individuals, although new research shows this awareness needs to extend to additional mental disorders.

With a summary posted in Science Daily, this research suggests there is a wide range of mental disorders that can increase the odds of thinking about suicide and making attempts on one’s own life.

Even though depression is still considered one of the strongest predictors of suicidal thoughts, disorders characterized by an anxiety and poor impulse-control actually best predict which people will act on such thoughts, especially in developing countries.

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African Americans Less Likely to Seek Help for Mental Issues

Mental health issues can be a growing problem when help isn’t sought for the suffering individual. The Surgeon General has reported this is a growing problem among African Americans as only one third of this population seeks proper treatment.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, African Americans are more likely to experience social circumstances that increase their chances of developing a mental illness at a disproportional rate. This segment of the population is also less likely to receive diagnosis and treatment for their mental illness as compared to Caucasian Americans.

At the age of 18, Gloria Sims started to drink. “I’d say the breaking point was at my high school reunion when I tripped and fell and sprained my ankle,” said Gloria. “It wasn’t the high heels – I blamed the concrete – it was because I was drunk.”

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Video Games May Present Healthful Benefits for Those Suffering from Depression

Those who suffer from depression and other mental illnesses, often turn to their doctors or therapists for answers to their condition and medications to relieve them of their symptoms.

Now, an article in the Washington Post suggests a new type of therapy: video games. To try and determine if there truly is a link between mental health benefits and participating in playing of the video game Bejeweled, manufacturer PopCap commissioned and funded a study.

Researchers determined that those volunteers who played Bejeweled displayed improved mood and heart rhythms compared with volunteers who weren’t playing. PopCap is now set to launch a second phase of testing to determine if video games can have measurable effects on clinical markers of depression.

This study and subsequent publishing of the findings is part of a broad array of unconventional efforts by video game companies to try and develop a new market for their products. This seems to be in direct contrast with the addictive aspects of video games and the impact that can have on a person’s mental health.

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Home Foreclosures Linked to Major Depression

The news of home foreclosures has been occupying much of the airwaves as individuals throughout the country have either lost jobs or found they really couldn’t afford the house they wanted so badly. While this has a negative financial impact, it also has shown to affect their mental health.

Science Daily recently issued a release citing a study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine which found nearly half of people studied while enduring foreclosure reported depressive symptoms. Another 37 percent met the screening criteria for major depression.

“The foreclosure crisis is also a health crisis,” said lead author Craig E. Pollack, MD, MHS, who conducted the research while working as an internist and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at Penn. “We need to do more to ensure that if people lose their homes, they don’t also lose their health.”

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Preschoolers with Depressed Mothers More Likely to Suffer Depression, Anxiety

The images of a group of preschoolers running around and enjoying each other and their environment generally do not include children who are depressed and anxious. Even if they cannot be easily identified, a new study suggests roughly 15 percent of these children do experience such mental states.

A recent Science Daily release focused on this five-year investigation into the general mental state of preschool aged children. In fact, this study suggests that 15 percent of preschoolers actually have atypically high levels of depression and anxiety. Study findings suggest such states were more common if the child’s mother had a history of depression.

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Study Examines Health Impact of Chronic Worry

Worrying has plagued the human race since the dawn of time. Folk lore and urban legends warn of the misery worrying can bring, yet it is part of human nature to worry – even when it produces negative results.

Science Daily recently reported on research from Purdue University suggesting chronic worrying can lead to early mortality, due in part to the fact chronic worriers are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors.

“Research shows that higher levels of neuroticism can lead to earlier mortality, and we wanted to know why,” said Daniel K. Mroczek, a professor of child development and family studies, in the Science Daily. “We found that having worrying tendencies or being the kind of person who stresses easily is likely to lead to bad behaviors like smoking and, therefore, raise the mortality rate.

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