February 13, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A recently published study looked at depression detection using in-the-wild smartphone images. “Our study, MoodCapture, explores the innovative use of smartphone technology to detect signs of depression through ‘in-the-wild’ facial expressions captured by the front-facing camera during routine phone unlocks or app use,” co-first author Subigya Nepal told us. “We aimed to assess whether these spontaneous images, which reflect authentic emotions free from the biases of self-presentation, could serve as reliable indicators for depression."
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February 6, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in PLOS ONE looked at personal resources to mitigate the dark side of digital working. “The study focused on the personal resources of mindfulness and digital confidence and ways in which these resources can help to reduce negative well-being impacts from working digitally,” study author Elizabeth Marash told us. “We aimed to understand how experiences such as technology-related stress, anxiety and overload might manifest in higher burnout and poorer health.”
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December 12, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A recently published study looked at benzodiazepine prescriptions for homeless veterans affairs service users with mental illness. “People experiencing homelessness are at high risk for substance use disorders, overdose, and death,” study author Dr. Katherine A. Koh told us. “Benzodiazepines are medications that are known to increase risk of overdose particularly when combined with other sedating medications.
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December 5, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A recent review in the Journal of Trends in Pharmacological Sciences was written by four scientists from different universities -- Dr. Bernhard Luscher from Penn State University, Dr. Jamie Maguire from Tufts University, Dr. Uwe Rudolph from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Etienne Sibille from the University of Toronto -- who have a longstanding interest in the role that GABAA receptors play in the brain, specifically for the development and therapy of depression.
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November 21, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity looked at the effect of modernized collaborative care for depression on depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk biomarkers. “We set out to determine whether treating depression, a psychological risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), could reduce the risk of developing CVD in the future, like treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” study author Jesse C. Stewart told us. “Our study, the eIMPACT trial, was based on more than three decades of research showing that people with depression are at elevated risk of developing CVD, similar to people with traditional CVD risk factors.”
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October 31, 2023
by Elizabeth Pratt
People who bought firearms at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have higher rates of mental health problems and political extremism.
Research published in PLOS One found those who bought firearms during the pandemic had higher rates of self harm, suicidal thoughts and intimate partner violence when compared with those who don’t own firearms or other firearms owners who bought firearms outside the height of the pandemic.
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October 3, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine looked at adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and aging-associated functional impairment in a national sample of older community-dwelling adults. “In recent years, there has been growing interest and research in how stress and traumatic events that happen in childhood can impact people’s health in their early adult years, from increasing people’s risk of depression all the way to other diseases like diabetes,” study author Victoria M. Lee told us.
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September 26, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Emotion looked at the influence of sleep on subjective well-being through an experience sampling study. “In the study we wanted to find out, how various indicators of sleep influence well-being on the next day. We were hoping to find multiple associations between sleep and well-being,” study author Dr. Anita Lenneis, from the University of Warwick’s Department of Psychology, told us. “We pre-registered our ideas of how the results would look like in advance.”
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August 4, 2023
by Elizabeth Pratt
Children who read for pleasure experience better mental health during adolescence as well as superior performance in cognitive tests.
Research published in Psychological Medicine found that roughly 12 hours of reading per week was the perfect amount associated with an improvement in brain structure.
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August 1, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
A recent study looked at paternal and maternal psychiatric history and risk of preterm and early term birth. It was a nation-wide study using Swedish registers. “It has been known for some time that women who are clinically anxious or depressed are more likely to deliver a child prematurely,” study author Michael E. Silverman told us. “Indeed, considerable evidence now exists showing a relationship between various psychiatric illnesses and the likelihood of delivering a premature infant.”
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