Monday, 12 December 2016
Down cycle?
A recent study linked the contraceptive pill with depression. But poorly interpreted statistics might pose a bigger risk for women. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Using Magnets on the Brain to Bring Back Memories
New research is challenging the idea that working memory helps us remembers things through sustained brain activity.
Instead, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that our brains tuck less-important information away beyond the reach of the tools that typically monitor brain activity. The researchers then were able to bring that information back into active attention with magnets.
The research could eventually help people suffering from schizophrenia or depression, according to Dr. Brad Postle, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
“A lot of mental illness is associated with the inability to choose what to think about. What we’re taking are first steps toward looking at the mechanisms that give us control over what we think about.”
According to Postle, most people feel they are able to concentrate on a lot more than their working memory can actually hold. It’s a bit like vision, in which it feels like we’re seeing everything in our field of view, but details slip away unless you re-focus on them regularly:
“The notion that you’re aware of everything all the time is a sort of illusion your consciousness creates. That is true for thinking, too. You have the impression that you’re thinking of a lot of things at once, holding them all in your mind. But lots of research shows us you’re probably only actually attending to — are conscious of in any given moment — just a very small number of things.”
For the study, the researchers conducted a series of experiments in which people were asked to remember two items representing different types of information — words, faces, and directions of motion — because they’d be tested on their memories.
When the researchers gave their subjects a cue as to the type of question coming — a face, for example, instead of a word — the electrical activity and blood flow in the brain associated with the word memory disappeared. But if a second cue came letting the person know they would now be asked about that word, the brain activity would jump back up to a level indicating it was the focus of attention.
“People have always thought neurons would have to keep firing to hold something in memory. Most models of the brain assume that. But we’re watching people remember things almost perfectly without showing any of the activity that would come with a neuron firing. The fact that you’re able to bring it back at all in this example proves it’s not gone. It’s just that we can’t see evidence for its active retention in the brain.”
The researchers were also able to bring the seemingly abandoned items back to mind without cueing their subjects. Using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to apply a focused electromagnetic field to a precise part of the brain involved in storing the word, they could trigger the sort of brain activity representing focused attention.
Additionally, if they cued their subjects to focus on a face (causing brain activity associated with the word to drop off), a well-timed pulse of transcranial magnetic stimulation would snap the stowed memory back into attention, and prompt the subjects to incorrectly think that they had been cued to focus on the word, the researchers report:
“We think that memory is there, but not active. More than just showing us it’s there, the TMS can actually make that memory temporarily active again.”
The study suggests a state of memory apart from the spotlight attention of active working memory and the deep storage of more significant things in long-term memory, according to Postle:
“What’s still unknown here is how the brain determines what falls away, and what enables you to retrieve things in the short-term if you need them.”
Studying how the brain apportions attention could eventually influence the way we understand and treat some mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, in which patients focus on hallucinations instead of reality, and depression, which seems related to spending an unhealthy amount of time dwelling on negative things, he noted:
“We are making some interesting progress with very basic research. But you can picture a point at which this work could help people control their attention, choose what they think about, and manage or overcome some very serious problems associated with a lack of control.”
This guest article originally appeared on PsychCentral.com: Magnetic Brain Stimulation Can Activate Dormant Memories by Janice Wood.
REFERENCE
Rose, N.S., LaRocque, J.J., Riggall, A.C., Gosseries, O., Starrett, M.J., Meyering, E.E. and Postle, B.R. (2016) ‘Reactivation of latent working memories with transcranial magnetic stimulation’, Science, 354(6316), pp. 1136–1139. doi: 10.1126/science.aah7011.
Image via PeteLinforth / Pixabay.
via Brain Blogger Read More Here..Legally dead?
Jewish people have been traditionally wary of signing up to organ donation - but that might be changing. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Smoke and mirrors
One of the most repressive states in the world is trying to become one of the healthiest. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
'It's life-changing'
Twenty-two-year old photographer James is terminally ill and struggles to use a camera alone, so a designer has come up with a way to help. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Friday, 9 December 2016
Light therapy could break down Alzheimer’s brain deposits
An hour a day of light therapy has been found to boost gamma brainwaves and break down brain deposits in mice with Alzheimer's-like symptoms via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
Exclusive: Mexico clinic plans 20 ‘three-parent’ babies in 2017
The first baby made using the technique to prevent inherited disease was born this year, and New Scientist has learned that tests suggest he is healthy via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
Vaping by US high schoolers has increased by 900 per cent
The US surgeon general has warned that nicotine can contribute to mood disorders and attention deficits in teens, following a sharp increase in those who vape via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
Super-you: The mutant powers you get from outsider genes
Genes from other species, and cells from your relatives, live inside your body – and they hint at how we can improve ourselves via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
The alarming drop in US life expectancy shouldn’t be a surprise
Life expectancy is down in the US for the first time since the worst years of the AIDS epidemic. It is a critical moment for health policy, says Laudan Aron via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
Almost half of baby boomers’ health problems stem from lifestyle choices
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More needs to be done to help them enjoy a healthy old age, says CMO Related items from OnMedica Women over 50 shun smear tests Full screening uptake would prevent 83% of cervical cancer deaths Benefits of taking aspirin highest in women aged 65 plus A fifth of over-65s are drinking too much Drinking by baby boomers costs NHS the most |
Self-harm among children and young people on the rise
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Teenagers aged 13 to 17 most likely to need hospital treatment Related items from OnMedica Self-harm and injury less likely with lithium than other drugs Nearly one in four children denied access to mental health services in England Fifth of all children referred to specialist mental health services rejected for treatment Child mental health funding not reaching CCGs |
Include pharmacists in general practice team, say patients and carers
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Role pays dividends for patients and GPs, survey shows Related items from OnMedica Role of pharmacists is set to grow and grow 400 more pharmacists to work in GP surgeries Pharmacists call for more integrated future with GPs Pharmacists reject government funding package Give pharmacists more prescribing rights to ease GP burden |
Ongoing pressures putting NHS at risk of ‘serious lapses in care’, think-tanks warn
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This is despite improvements in care quality in key areas Related items from OnMedica Care quality set to worsen this year, warn finance directors Fallout from no-new-NHS-money budget builds Make emergency care part of ‘A&E hubs’ to ease pressures, urge experts Emergency care already facing greater ‘winter pressures’ than last year NHS unprepared for winter pressure, say doctors |
UK public health experts move to quash e-cigarette fears in wake of US report
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US and UK not comparable: don’t be put off helping smokers to switch, they advise Related items from OnMedica Smoking hits record low of 17% of adults in England One in nine people across the EU has tried e-cigarettes Young people’s regular use of e-cigarettes still low Experts reject BMA stance on vaping E-cigarettes linked with successful quitting |
Thursday, 8 December 2016
Antibacterial products may help bacteria beat antibiotics
The antibacterial agent triclosan is often present in anything from cleaning products to toys, but tests suggest it can help MRSA survive antibiotics via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
These Kids Rapping About Vegetables Is the Best Thing You'll See Today
Not everyone gets excited about vegetables, but this video will definitely help and at the very least it has to put a smile on your face. These kids have talent. And they're rapping about growing food and vegetables. Not only that, they're really good—at rapping, dancing, knowing their nutrition facts (around 2:43 they start talking about minerals and vitamins, and nail it) and, from the looks of it, cooking yummy, healthy food.
via EatingWell Blogs - All Blog Posts More READ
UN, international health and development agencies to promote environmentally and socially responsible procurement of health commodities
UN, international health and development agencies to promote environmentally and socially responsible procurement of health commodities via WHO news Read More Here..
Two women's different stories of fat shaming
One woman tells the BBC's World Have Your Say how fat shaming helped her to change her lifestyle, while another said abuse made her suicidal. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
US life expectancy drops for first time in 20 years
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‘Only good news’ is fall in cancer death rates Related items from OnMedica Men’s life expectancy getting closer to that of women Life expectancy rising alongside illness and disability Life expectancy of over 65s is highest ever Eastern Mediterranean conflict jeopardising decades of health gains More progress needed to prevent stillbirths globally |
'If I didn't meet you, I'd be dead in a year'
Thomas was diagnosed with prostate cancer after Errol McKellar - mechanic and cancer survivor - persuaded him to get a test during a visit to his garage. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Brain activity may predict falls risk in older adults
Read More Here..
New rules ban junk food ads aimed at children
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Industry acts following public consultation Related items from OnMedica Child type 2 diabetes is a ‘wake-up call’ to the nation GP leaders condemn obesity strategy delay Levy on sugary drinks announced in Budget Children order fast food from schools, report shows Child mental health funding not reaching CCGs |
Spending on public mental health is ‘negligible’
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Some councils spend nothing on prevention Related items from OnMedica Mental health should be taught in schools, like numeracy New mothers to get more help with mental health Promises to boost mental health funding stall Child mental health funding not reaching CCGs ‘No improvement’ in community mental health care |
Health watchdog ‘must demonstrate value for money’
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‘Goodwill lost’ over fees hike warn commissioners Related items from OnMedica CQC regime is ‘damaging’ patient care, says survey CQC inspection fees set to rise Majority of GP practices receive good CQC ratings CQC fee hike plans will hobble frontline care, GP leaders warn CQC to target inspections with better intelligence |
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
More at-risk people will get access to HIV preventive treatment
NHS England has announced plans to expand access to PrEP to 10,000 people, but only as part of a three-year trial investigating how best to roll out the drug via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
Should fertility clinics offer experimental unproven treatments?
Are clinicians that offer experimental menopause reversal and three-parent babies providing desperate patients with a last stab at parenthood, or offering false hope? via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
‘I feel young again’: Why a woman injects her ovaries with blood
Private clinics are offering to reverse early menopause by injecting a woman’s ovaries with her own blood products, but the treatment hasn’t been through clinical trials via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
Light therapy could break down Alzheimer’s brain deposits
An hour a day of light therapy has been found to boost gamma brainwaves and break down brain deposits in mice with Alzheimer's-like symptoms via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
'Flashing light therapy' for Alzheimer's
A flashing light therapy might help ward off Alzheimer’s, say scientists after successful trials in mice. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
India doctor to operate on '500kg' Egyptian woman
An Egyptian woman, said to weigh 500kg, is to be airlifted to India for weight reduction surgery. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Exclusive: First visit to Russia’s secret nuclear disaster site
Deep in the cold war, Russia managed to hide another Chernobyl – a catastrophic explosion that affected thousands. Fred Pearce visits the Mayak evacuation zone via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
UK launches avian influenza protection measures
Read More Here..
Pfizer fined a record £84.2m for overcharging
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Price of epilepsy drug rose 2,600% overnight Related items from OnMedica Expensive cancer drugs have little impact on survival UK pays less than neighbours for cancer drugs The medicine price debate NHS cancer patients still denied treatments available in other countries Study shows huge global variation in cancer drug costs |
Scotland launches organ donor consultation
Read More Here..
Funding boost for local cancer services
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And new investment in radiotherapy Related items from OnMedica Doctors’ leaders slam progress report on cancer strategy for England Expensive cancer drugs have little impact on survival Fertility preservation for girls with cancer ‘haphazard’ Survival rates rise for lung cancer surgery |
Pfizer fined record £84.2m for overcharging NHS
Drugs giant Pfizer has been fined a record £84.2m by the regulator for overcharging the NHS. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Doctors need to develop skill of empathy
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Burnout risk when doctors get this wrong Related items from OnMedica Consultation models NHS pressures could cause staff ‘burnout’ GMC warns of 'state of unease' amongst doctors Excessive workload driving GPs to breaking point Difficult patients really are harder to diagnose |
Australian court approves intersex child's surgery
A five-year-old child born genetically male will grow up as a sterilised female after a court ruling. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Reluctantly casting doubt on 'life-saving' stoves
Research casts doubt on a global mission to use cleaner-burning stoves, to prevent pollution-induced illness in the world's poorest children. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Kenya strike: Patient's brother says strike is "inhumane"
The brother of a patient in a Kenyan hospital tells the BBC's World Have Your Say he thinks the doctors' strike over pay is "inhumane". via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Generation clean: Why many young adults choose to stay sober
Younger people are drinking less – or not at all – despite booze getting cheaper, and it's pitting health experts and the alcohol industry against each other via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..
The Science of Raising a Friendly Psychopath
What makes someone a psycopath? Nature or Nurture? And can we stop at risk children from growing up into dangerous adult psycopaths? One of the oldest queries in psychology — Nature Vs Nurture — asks if what makes us who we are is predisposed by our DNA, or by life experiences. It is a pretty poignant question when it comes to psychopaths, who are estimated to account for up to 50% of all serious crimes in the US.
Clinically known as anti-social personality disorder in the DMS-V, some troublesome psychopathic traits include:
• an egocentric identity
• an absence of pro-social standards in goal-setting
• a lack of empathy
• an incapacity for mutually intimate relationships
• manipulativeness
• deceitfulness
• callousness
• irresponsibility, impulsivity and risk taking
• hostility
Although these characteristics may be unpleasant, not all psychopaths are dangerous or criminals, and not all dangerous criminals are psychopaths. Counter-intuitively there are pro-social psycopaths too. Nonetheless, some psychopaths do pose a genuine threat for the safety of others.
The real unsolved problem when it comes to psychopathy is how to treat the personality disorder. Although certainly not to be considered impossible with the malleable brains we have even as adults, Dr. Nigel Blackwood, a leading Forensic Psychiatrist at King’s College London, has stated that adult psychopaths can be treated or managed but not cured. Curing adult psycopathy is considered a near-impossible challenge.
Therefore, understanding when and how psychopathy develops from child to adult is an important part of the research engine that will hopefully identify what parents, caregivers and governments can do to prevent an at risk child from growing up to be a psycopath — and at the very least, find ways to minimize potential harm to the self and others in raising a pro-social psycopath.
Development of psycopathic personalities is mainly due to genes
Enter new psychopathy research published in Development and Psychopathology by lead author Dr. Catherine Tuvblad from the University of Southern California. Her research was a twin-based study designed to overcome many of the drawbacks and limitations of past research. Ultimately the study was designed to provide a more reliable indication of the extent to which genes or the environment, that is nature or nurture, is responsible for the development of psychopathic personality features as a child grows into a young adult.
In the study, 780 pairs of twins and their caregivers filled out a questionnaire that allowed for measuring features of child psychopathy at ages 9–10, 11–13, 14–15, and 16–18 years. This includes measuring psychopathic personality features that can be used to predict the development adult psychopathy, such as high levels of callous behavior towards peers and problems adhering to social norms.
The changes in the childrens’ psychopathic personality features between age groups was considered to be 94% due to genetics between the ages of 9-10 and 11-13, 71% genetic between the ages of 11–13 and 14–15, and 66% between 14-15 and 16-18. After genetics, environmental factors became increasingly more important to developing psycopathic traits as children age.
This suggests that environmental factors may increasingly play a key part in changing the levels of psychopathic features when reaching teenage years, which is very promising for the development of future interventions for the prevention of psychopathy.
It should be noted that while the children’s test results pointed to the environment around them becoming increasingly important to their psycopathic behavior, their parents almost exclusively thought that the psycopathy they observed in their children was purely genetic. Considering parents are largely responsible for their child’s environment, its not that surprising.
Nurture is important at key developmental stages in psychopathy development
The analysis also revealed that there is a key turning point in the development of psychopathy during the age range studied. The authors considered this turning point to be caused by the onset of puberty, when gene-environment interactions that are highly significant in inhibiting or promoting the development of psychopathy are at play.
Interestingly, the data also indicates that if these rapid gene-environment based changes in psychopathy development occur early on (e.g. 11-13), any later additional environmental changes to psychopathic traits would be minimal. In other words, once the psychopathic personality traits are set during puberty, they tend to last into later years.
Other research has found that there may be other key turning points on route to becoming a psychopath much earlier in life. One study found that the total number of early negative life events between the ages of 0-4 were positively correlated with the emotion-based aspects of psychopathy. The findings suggest that early environmental factors could have important implications for the development of psychopathic traits and may also impact attachment to parents for children with genetic potential for psychopathy.
So although psychopathy is largely genetic, where it’s mostly down to if you have the right combination of genes needed to become a psychopath or not, life experiences during puberty and early infant years could make or break a potential psychopath.
The cure for psychopathy is love?
So what does science suggest as a successful environmental antidote to developing psychopathy? Believe it or not, love!
One neuroscientist, Dr. James Fallon, made a shocking discovery that on paper he is a psychopath. For example, he had a version of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene that is linked with violent crime and psychopathy. Also known as the warrior gene, MAOA encodes an enzyme that affects the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
His brain scans also resembled those of a psychopath. He had low activity in certain areas of the frontal and temporal lobes linked challenges with empathy, morality and self-control. In his family tree, there were also seven alleged murderers.
Although Dr. Fallon, in his own words, is obnoxiously competitive, kind of an asshole and won’t even let his grandchildren win games, he was certainly not a dangerous psychopath. So why not? His genes and even his brain screamed potential for antisocial psychopathy.
His answer was that the love he received from his mother led to him becoming a pro-social psycopath. And a newly published study tends to agree with him. OK love in itself is not enough. But, how a mother expresses that love in guiding the child’s pro-social behavior and in setting good examples of pro-social behavior might be the real key.
A new discovery coming from research on adopted infants suggests this is the case. Researchers found that the development of one of the largest child risk factors for psychopathy, that is highly heritable from biological mothers with severe antisocial behaviors — callous-unemotional behavior — was inhibited by high levels of positive reinforcement at 18 months by the adopted mother.
Further research will hopefully identify a whole repertoire of ways parents, schools and governments alike can lovingly nurture the development of at risk children through these key developmental stages. Ultimately, this could stop a large amount of future violent criminals literally in their diapers, before they even start.
References
Bartels, M., Hudziak, J. J., van den Oord, E. J. C. G., van Beijsterveldt, C. E. M., Rietveld, M. J. H., & Boomsma, D. I. (2003). Co-occurrence of Aggressive Behavior and Rule-Breaking Behavior at Age 12: Multi-Rater Analyses. Behavior Genetics, 33(5), 607–621. doi:10.1023/a:1025787019702
Hawes, S. W., Byrd, A. L., Waller, R., Lynam, D. R., & Pardini, D. A. (2016). Late childhood interpersonal callousness and conduct problem trajectories interact to predict adult psychopathy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12598
Hyde, L. W., Waller, R., Trentacosta, C. J., Shaw, D. S., Neiderhiser, J. M., Ganiban, J. M., … Leve, L. D. (2016). Heritable and Nonheritable pathways to early callous-unemotional behaviors. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(9), 903–910. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111381
Miller, J. D., Jones, S. E., & Lynam, D. R. (2011). Psychopathic traits from the perspective of self and informant reports: Is there evidence for a lack of insight? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 120(3), 758–764. doi:10.1037/a0022477
Neumann, C. S., & Hare, R. D. (2008). Psychopathic traits in a large community sample: Links to violence, alcohol use, and intelligence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(5), 893–899. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.76.5.893
Rogers, T. P., Blackwood, N. J., Farnham, F., Pickup, G. J., & Watts, M. J. (2008). Fitness to plead and competence to stand trial: A systematic review of the constructs and their application. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 19(4), 576–596. doi:10.1080/14789940801947909
Tuvblad, C., Wang, P., Bezdjian, S., Raine, A., & Baker, L. A. (2015). Psychopathic personality development from ages 9 to 18: Genes and environment. Development and Psychopathology, 28(01), 27–44. doi:10.1017/s0954579415000267
via Brain Blogger Read More Here..5 Meal-Prep Ideas We LOVE
Do you ever feel pressed for time trying to get a meal together? Yup, us too—which is why we love giving ourselves a helping hand up front by taking advantage of make-ahead meals. These mouthwatering meal-prep ideas are just the inspirational eye-candy we need to make a plan to eat healthy (and deliciously) this week.
Related: How to Meal-Prep on Sunday for a Week of Healthy Dinners
via EatingWell Blogs - All Blog Posts More READ
Egypt arrests 'organ trafficking ring'
Egypt arrests 25 people, including doctors and nurses, accused of illegal organ trafficking. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Bucket list student Matt Greenwood 'overwhelmed by support'
A 21-year-old bone cancer patient says he's been overwhelmed by the support of friends who've raised more than £56,000 to help him achieve his bucket list. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..
Menopause and work
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The sugar tax: a sweet stocking filler?
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Cancer Research UK welcomes the publication of the draft legislation for the sugar tax Related items from OnMedica Unhealthy lifestyles and poor diets Pressure mounts on government to introduce sugar tax Tackling obesity ‘must be made a national priority’ Will a sugar tax reduce obesity in the UK? Overweight teens more likely to have severe liver disease later |
Survival rates rise for lung cancer surgery
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Autistic brains share ‘signature’ abnormalities
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