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Can Neurocognitive Function Predict Suicide?

December 8, 2016

A study of Army administrative data found an association between decreased neurocognitive functioning and suicide in soldiers. Researchers found that lower scores on a computerized test of neurocognitive functioning—including problems in decision-making, problem-solving, verbal fluency, and memory—were linked to suicide attempts or death and suicidal thoughts in the following 12 months. The study showed more suicide attempts in soldiers who were female, less educated, white non-Hispanic, and younger at the time of testing, and who had a mental health diagnosis before testing. The...

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Military Sexual Trauma Linked to Mental Health Problems in Transgender Veterans

December 8, 2016

Military sexual trauma (MST) is associated with mental health problems in transgender Veterans. A study of 332 transgender Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan found that MST was associated with likelihood of PTSD and personality disorder for both men and women, and with bipolar disorder and depressive disorder for women. Fifteen percent of the Veterans included in the study had experienced MST. The researchers conclude that medical forms should include gender identity in addition to biological gender, and that MST treatment should be culturally competent. (...

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Culture, Brain Function and Cognition Come Together at Mass General's MUNDOS Program

November 18, 2016

 

When Yakeel Quiroz, PhD, Co-Director, MUNDOS, joined the Psychology Assessment program at Mass General in 2011, she worried when she noticed that some of the test questions given to Latino patients did not seem to be culturally appropriate.

Quiroz, from Colombia herself, recognized that asking non-English speakers who didn’t grow up in the US who the first or second president of the US was — things they would have never...

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Could Loneliness Be a Sign of Alzheimer's?

November 2, 2016

Previous research has suggested loneliness may be associated with Alzheimer's disease among older adults. A new study supports this link, after identifying a marker of early Alzheimer's in the brains of seniors with greater self-reported loneliness.

Read the full article in Medical News Today:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313858.php?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=medical-news-today-could-loneliness-be-a-sign-of-alzheimers

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Neurocognitive Deficits May Be a Red Flag for Psychosis

November 2, 2016

BOSTON – While schizophrenia is best known for episodes of psychosis – a break with reality during which an individual may experience delusions and hallucinations – it is also marked by chronic neurocognitive deficits, such as problems with memory and attention. A multi-site cognition study led by psychologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) found that these neurocognitive symptoms are evident prior to the onset of psychosis in a high-risk stage of the disorder called the prodromal phase. Published today online in advance of print in JAMA Psychiatry, the findings...

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New Study Targets Role of Specific Neurons in Fear Behaviors

October 25, 2016

 

In a recently published paper, Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer for McLean Hospital and professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Kenneth M. McCullough describe their novel method for evaluating how a specific group of neurons within the amygdala—a mass of cells located deep within the brain—directly inhibits...

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Coast to Coast: Innovation and Self-Expression

October 6, 2016

A team from the VA Boston Healthcare System Center for Integrated Wellness and Self-Expression went to go visit the San Francisco PRRC program to exchange innovation ideas about creative and alternative modalities of mental health treatment for Veterans in September of 2016.

The site visit was funded by a Center for Innovation grant awarded to the VA Boston Healthcare System Center for...

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Overcoming the Stigma of Addiction

September 14, 2016

 

Twenty-three million people in the United States struggle with substance use disorders. The prevalence of these disorders and their wide-ranging effects has made them the number one public health concern in the country—unintentional overdose is the leading cause of accidental death, and according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse,  the annual economic cost is $700 billion from lost productivity, health care spending and criminal justice involvement.

In...

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Marijuana and the Teen Brain

September 14, 2016

 

With Election Day right around the corner, the legal landscape for marijuana in the United States is poised to change yet again. Marijuana is currently legal for recreational use in four states and for medicinal use in 25 states (plus the District of Columbia). On November 8th, five more states, including Massachusetts, will decide whether to legalize recreational use and another four will vote on medical use.

Perceived Harm of Marijuana Use Is Decreasing

This trend toward legalization signals a related decrease in the perceived harm of using...

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