Brain

A flurry of recent research has documented that talking on a cell phone poses a dangerous distraction for drivers and others whose attention should be focused elsewhere. Now, a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology finds that just the ring of a cell phone may be equally distracting, especially when it comes in a classroom setting or includes a familiar song as a ringtone.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- Brain cells, or neurons, transmit electrical signals efficiently only when they recycle tiny cellular sacs that store signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters. When a neuron is stimulated, the sacs are expelled into the synapse—the tiny junction between nerve cells—where they release the chemicals, which neighboring cells in turn soak up.

Mice lacking the fat hormone leptin or the ability to respond to it become morbidly obese and severely diabetic—not to mention downright sluggish. Now, a new study in the June Cell Metabolism shows that blood sugar control in those animals can be completely restored by returning leptin sensitivity to a single class of neurons in the brain, which account for only a small fraction of those that normally carry the hormone receptors.

"Just the receptors in this little group of neurons are sufficient to do the job," said Christian Bjorbaek of Harvard Medical School.

BOSTON – In investigating the complex neurocircuitry behind weight gain and glucose control, scientists have known that the hormone leptin plays a key role in the process. But within the myriad twists and turns of the brain's intricate landscape, the exact pathways that the hormone travels to exert its influence have remained a mystery.

Corrected vision impairment could prevent billions of dollars in lost productivity annually, according to a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of School of Public Health, the International Centre for Eyecare Education, the University of New South Wales and the African Vision Research Institute.

Researchers estimate that nearly 158 million people globally suffer with vision impairment resulting from uncorrected refractive error, which can usually be eliminated with a pair of eyeglasses and an eye examination.

Adolescents at an increased risk of depression who participated in a group cognitive behavioral intervention significantly reduced their symptoms and episodes of depression compared to teens who received usual care, although this effect was not seen for adolescents with a parent with current depression, according to a study in the June 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on child and adolescent health.

Judy Garber, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing in New York.

New research led by the University of Leicester and published this week in the British Journal of Psychiatry reveals that people with mental health problems are receiving inferior care for their medical needs.

New research findings published today by Dr Metin Başoğlu, Head of Section of Trauma Studies at King's College London and the Istanbul Centre for Behaviour Research and Therapy, examines the psychological impact of war captivity, 'cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment' (CIDT) and physical torture.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. – When a crime has been committed, the usual modus operandi for police detectives and their fictional counterparts has been to dust the scene for fingerprints. And once they have a suspect in custody, out comes the polygraph, or lie detector.

Men are planning for their financial security in retirement but not for their happiness, according to a survey revealing that more women than men plan for their health and leisure interests before they stop working.

Published in the Journal of Psychology and Aging, the survey suggests men could find retirement lonely and isolating unless they build social and leisure networks before they leave the workforce, says the report's co-author, UNSW psychologist, Dr Joanne Earl. The report's findings are based on a survey of 377 men and women aged 50-66 years.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan scientists have found that a deficiency in a key tumor suppressor gene in the brain leads to the most common type of adult brain cancer. The study, conducted in mice that mimic human cancer, points the way to more effective future treatments and a way to screen for the disease early.

Appearing June 2 in Cancer Cell, the U-M team's findings in mice show for the first time that:

MADISON — For more than a century, the notion that females are innately less capable than males at doing mathematics, especially at the highest levels, has persisted in even the loftiest circles.

This was one of the primary reasons posited in 2005 by Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard University and current economic adviser to President Barack Obama, for the extreme scarcity of tenured women math professors in top-ranked research universities in the U.S.

MANHASSET, NY – A new multi-center study, conducted at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in collaboration with five other centers throughout the country, tested the commonly prescribed antidepressant citalopram and found that it was no more effective than placebo in altering obsessive features of the condition – the spinning, rocking and repetitive behavior.

The antidepressant citalopram does not appear to reduce the occurrence of repetitive behaviors in children and teens with autism spectrum disorders, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Danish children who move frequently appear to have an increased risk of attempted or completed suicide between ages 11 and 17, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.