ADHD Patients On Medication Commit Fewer Crimes

A new study conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows a sharp decline in criminal behavior in people with ADHD while they were being medicated. The studied included over 25,000 individuals over a four-year time period. The study was able to demonstrates links between ADHD medication and a reduced risk of criminality. Not only were individuals compared in groups of medicated versus non-medicated, but also individuals were compared to their own period of medication versus non-medication showing a delcine in incidences of criminal behavior. The study of each individuals personal case shows that the risk reduction is not due to differences between participants on medication and those not. A couple other conclusions that were drawn from this study consisted of no difference between females and males and that the findings are able to be applied to both petty crimes and more serious and violent crimes. Although this study has given many great findings and advances for those studying ADHD, researchers also warn that side effects, benefits and an indvidual patient's life should be taken  into consideration before any medication is prescribed to them. With studies showing roughly 30 to 40 percent of long-serving criminals having ADHD, their chances of recidivism if reduced by 30 percent, could allow for a decrease in total crime numbers in many societies.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121122095115.htm

Have you been feeling positive all summer & are now noticing changes in your mood? If this is the case you may be experiencing seasonal depression

Seasonal Depression also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that affects a person during the same time each year. SAD normally begins to affect people in the fall and winter months. A person affected with SAD will feel depressed during these seasons and feel better during the spring and summer (WebMD).

According to WebMD, The causes of SAD are unknown; however experts think that it may be caused by a lack of sunlight. Lack of light can disrupt sleeping patterns as well as cause problems with the brain chemical serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that affects a person’s mood.

Do you have SAD?

Symptoms of SAD include:

-          Feeling sad, grumpy, moody or anxious

-          Lose of interest in activities

-          Weight gain

-          Sleeping more

-          Feeling drowsy during the daytime

Symptoms usually begin in September or October and end in April or May

How do you treat SAD?

Light therapy is usually prescribed to treat SAD. There are two types of light therapy.

1.       Counseling: Counseling can help a person to learn more about SAD and how to manage their symptoms.

2.       Antidepressants: Antidepressants balance out the brain chemicals that affect mood.

3.       Exercise: As with any type of depression regular exercise will help improve energy and decrease depression.

Light therapy can also be prescribed to treat SAD. There are two types of light therapy.

1.       Bright light treatment: This treatment involves the person sitting in front of a light box for at least half an hour a day. This treatment is usually done in the morning.

2.       Dawn stimulation: For this treatment, the person will have a dim light that goes on in the morning and gets brighter over time. This effect acts like a sunrise.

 

Source: WebMD

Written by: Brittany Ritterman

Restoring Our Brain Function by Training Our Brain Waves

 

Research done in Canada is showing that the training of a specific type of brainwave may be used to restore the brain function in individuals with mental disorders. The technique allows the training of the brain’s alpha rhythm cause the brain network that is responsible for cognitive control to be enhanced. Another study has also found that within a 30-minute session of neural-based training, noninvasive, there are function changes that occur within a key brain network area. Previous studies that have been done have led experts to believe that the dysfunction of this network can be implicated in some disorders such as ADHD, Schizophrenia, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. During this neurofeedback, training of the brain waves, the individuals are able to learn to control their own brain activity with the help of this brain-computer interface. In some cases the computer will record brainwaves through an EEG and then the system can process and represent the individuals’ real-time brain activity. It is then displayed from moment to moment during a training game that is on the computer. This is known as a neurofeedback loop because the information is always fed back to the user to allow a reflection of the level of brain control. It allows the individual to reproduce a normal brain state. The reason this type of change is possible is because of neuroplasticity which is the natural property of the brain that allows it to reorganize itself after training. What the studies have shown is that the changes were able to be observed up to 30 minutes after neurofeedback allowing them to compare brain waves and behavioral measures more closely. In other words past activity may be able to condition the future state of processing of the brain. Researchers are hoping this study will lead other experts to believe that EEG neurofeedback can be a viable and revolutionary approach to treating brain disorders.

The Future of the Human Condition: Bright or Bleak?

Twenty years ago, the world and the people in it were vastly different than today. To have a relationship, or an interpersonal bond with another, we had to actually walk up and have a conversation face-to-face. Sure we could pick up and dial the phone, but cellular devices consisted of a huge plastic brick. To communicate with massive amounts of people, we had to stand up on a podium and send our voices through cable lines and satellite arrays. Since then, technical innovation has accelerated to breakneck speeds and today, the average person can't travel without tapping away on their smartphone, in an instant sending and receiving information with hundreds if not thousands through networks like Facebook or Twitter. But as amazing as it is, try to imagine what twenty years into the future will look like at the current rate of advances. Will we be even more connected, albeit with less intimacy? As humans become more and more networked, there's a chance the traits that make us human may start to lose relevance. Things like strong emotion, companionship, and the survival instinct could be tossed to the wayside as we increasingly live digitally. On the other hand, some believe we will soon have the capacity to communicate without saying a word or even touching a single device. Information would spread effortlessly, requiring no physical medium and little to no time lapse. As microchips and circuit boards get smaller and smaller into the nanoscale, smartphones will soon seem like relics of a simpler past. However, does this mean we will eventually discard our humanity in favor of ones and zeros? How could modalities for treatment and therapy develop to take full advantage of a rapidly changing lifestyle?

http://jetpress.org/v19/marsen.htm

Dr. Gurfein on Channel 7 News, regarding predatory activities in NJ

Tips on staying safe:

- Always walk in groups

- Know safe places along the way

- Plan your route in advance

- Don't take shortcuts through the woods or alleys

Exercise, Self-Image & Social Ties in Teens

According to the article, Exercise Can Boost Teens’ Self-Image, Social Ties, increased exercise in adolescents and teens can improve self-image and also help expand their social networks. The new study that has uncovered this interesting finding can be found in Clinical Psychological Science.

Researchers in Europe ran a study on a sample of over 7,000 Dutch students between the ages of 11 and 16, utilizing various surveys to assess physical activity, mental health states, body weight perception and also participation in organized sports. Besides gathering data directly from the students the researchers also gathered data on the age, gender, their socioeconomic status, whether they lived at home and whether or not they lived in a suburban or urban area. This data could offer great insight into the availability of physical activity services offered to the children, etc. Researchers were looking to create a link between two previously used explanations for the links between exercise and mental health. One being that physical activity has positive effects on body weight, which in turn leads to positive feedback from family, friends, peers, leading to a better self-image and in turn improving a child’s mental state. The second being the social interaction theory, which stresses that social relationships formed between team members may contribute to the positive effects that exercise has on mental health.

After surveying the children and gathering all the data researchers found that the “findings confirm both the self-image hypothesis and the social interaction hypothesis.” Children who were not physically active and saw themselves as being “too fat” or “too skinny” were much more likely to experience depression, anxiety, aggression and even substance abuse. Those children that participated routinely in organized sports were at a much lower risk for these mental health problems. These findings show that while body weight perception has an influence on physical activity it also has an influence on whether or not children participate in sports which in turn may be linked to various mental health issues.
These findings are very important for researchers and will hopefully lead to future studies that will examine similar issues.

Article : http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/09/26/exercise-can-boost-teens-self-image-social-ties/45161.html

Written by : Klaudia Zdybel

New Alzheimer's Finding

 

 

 

According to an article written by Rich Nauert, an enzyme that destroys beta-amyloid, the toxic protein that is accumulated in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, has been discovered. This enzyme known as BACE2 was found to lower beta-amyloid much more effectively than any other enzymes that have been previously discovered. BACE2 is closely related to BACE1, the enzyme responsible for creating beta-amyloid, but in turn does the opposite. Beta-amyloid is a smaller fragment of a large protein, known as APP, and is created when enzymes cut APP in two places. BACE1 is responsible for making the cut that generates beta-amyloid, and BACE2 is shown to cut beta-amyloid into smaller pieces, in turn destroying it. BACE2 cuts the beta-amyloid portion in the middle, unlike the BACE1, which prevents beta-amyloid production. BACE2 has now been looked at as a very good candidate for gene therapy to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Further research suggests that impairments in BACE2 might increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Although this enzyme can lower beta-amyloid by two mechanisms, only the new discovered method is relevant to the disease. Alzheimer’s being the most common memory disorder in the United States, affecting over 5 million people, causes many researchers to continue their studies to find effective treatments. The next step in this research referring to BACE2 is to study whether blocking beta-amyloid destruction by BACE2 increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. This will first be tests in a mouse model of the disease.

 

 

Article : http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/09/19/enzyme-found-that-destroys-alzheimers-plaques/44753.html

 

Written by : Klaudia Zdybel