Brain

Washington D.C., December 17, 2012 – A study published in the December 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that adolescents who experienced food insecurity in the past year have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than adolescents whose families have reliable access to food.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales and Black Dog Institute in Sydney, Australia have used brain imaging technology to show that young people with a known risk of bipolar (but as yet have no signs of the condition) have clear and quantifiable differences in brain activity when compared to controls.

"We found that the young people who had a parent or sibling with bipolar disorder had reduced brain responses to emotive faces, particularly a fearful face. This is an extremely promising breakthrough," says study leader UNSW Professor Philip Mitchell.

WASHINGTON — Paying it forward - a popular expression for extending generosity to others after someone has been generous to you - is a heartwarming concept, but it is less common than repaying greed with greed, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

"The idea of paying it forward is this cascade of goodwill will turn into a utopia with everyone helping everyone," said lead researcher Kurt Gray, PhD. "Unfortunately, greed or looking out for ourselves is more powerful than true acts of generosity."

Blocking a single tiny blood vessel in the brain can harm neural tissue and even alter behavior, a new study from the University of California, San Diego has shown. But these consequences can be mitigated by a drug already in use, suggesting treatment that could slow the progress of dementia associated with cumulative damage to miniscule blood vessels that feed brain cells. The team reports their results in the December 16 advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience.

PHILADELPHIA – Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals that sons of male rats exposed to cocaine are resistant to the rewarding effects of the drug, suggesting that cocaine-induced changes in physiology are passed down from father to son. The findings are published in the latest edition of Nature Neuroscience.

• Chronic alcohol and marijuana during youth is associated with worsened neurocognitive abilities into later adolescence and adulthood.
• A new study examines fiber tract integrity affected by adolescent alcohol and marijuana use for 1.5 years.
• Results support previous findings of reduced white-matter integrity in these youth.

• Executive function (EF) guides complex behavior such as planning, decision-making, and response control.
• Alcohol dependence (AD) is known to impair EF.
• New findings indicate that increased impulsiveness and decreased EF may comprise an inherited trait that signifies greater risk for developing AD.

• Sensitivity to the stimulating effects of alcohol and other drugs is a risk marker for their problematic use.
• Negative emotionality has also been associated with substance use.
• New findings indicate that a high level of negative emotionality may lead to problem drinking when it occurs together with sensitivity to a drug-based reward.

• Underage youth are regularly exposed to alcohol marketing.
• New research has examined associations between alcohol marketing and binge drinking by youth.
• Results indicate these associations are mediated by drinker identity and brand allegiance, which are actively cultivated by alcohol marketers.

• Previous research has found that individuals who become more energized, talkative, and/or social when they drink – versus sedated or sleepy – are more likely to drink heavier.
• A new study examined the impact of a mutation of the mu opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene on the effects of drinking.
• Findings indicate that the OPRM1 genotype seems to moderate the pleasant and stimulating effects to alcohol among alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals.

Memo to casino operators: just because you build it doesn't mean they will come.

A new study out of the University of Iowa examined how casino growth in the state has influenced gambling by residents. The survey suggests that fewer Iowans gambled overall and also that fewer people have become addicted to gambling despite a recent spurt in gaming facilities. Casino gambling was introduced in Iowa in 1991. There are currently 21 casinos in Iowa, all but three licensed by the state. (The others are owned and operated by Native American tribes.)

Belmont, MA—The long-term use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) may severely impact the user's ability to accurately recall the shapes and spatial relationships of objects, according to a recent study conducted by McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School investigators.

In the study, published today online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, McLean Hospital Research Psychiatrist Harrison Pope, MD, used a variety of tests to determine whether AAS users developed cognitive defects due to their admitted history of abuse.

Tampa, FL (Dec. 14, 2012)— A new study focusing on how people with dementia become lost while driving, how missing drivers are found, and the role of public notification systems like Silver Alert in these discoveries suggests techniques that may help recover drivers with dementia and prevent potentially harmful incidents.

Higher rates of schizophrenia in urban areas can be attributed to increased deprivation, increased population density and an increase in inequality within a neighbourhood, new research reveals. The research, led by the University of Cambridge in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London, was published today in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.

An employment contract for NHS consultants introduced in 2003 and including a 27 per cent pay rise over three years failed to increase productivity. The findings emerge from a 10-year study of hospital consultant activity, published today by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, which looked at the levels of consultant clinical activity rates between 1999 and 2009. The researchers found that, despite an expectation by the Department of Health that the contract would result in year-on-year productivity gains of 1.5%, consultant activity levels showed a downward trend.