What Does Social Isolation do to the Brain?
Razi Berry Since the coronavirus pandemic began in the spring, many people have only seen their close friends and loved ones during video calls, if at all. A new study from MIT finds that the longings we feel during this kind of social isolation share a neural basis with the food cravings we feel when […]
Post-COVID Stress Disorder
Sarah Cimperman, ND The COVID-19 pandemic has caused nearly 1.5 million deaths worldwide as of late November 2020.1 It’s also been the source of considerable suffering as people struggle with economic devastation, food insecurity, unemployment, workplace safety concerns, the loss of loved ones, and social isolation. Even after individuals infected with coronavirus recover, the psychological […]
Risk Factors Associated with Death in Hospitalized COVID-19 Adults
Razi Berry Being of an older age, showing signs of sepsis, and having blood clotting issues when admitted to hospital are key risk factors associated with higher risk of death from the new coronavirus (COVID-19), according to a new observational study of 191 patients with confirmed COVID-19 from two hospitals in Wuhan, China, published in […]
8 Things This Doctor is Doing to Keep Her Family Healthy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sarah Cimperman, ND Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2, also known as SARS-CoV-2 and 2019-nCoV, is a new strain of coronavirus that was identified in humans last December. The disease associated with the virus, Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19, has become a global pandemic. It’s the first pandemic ever caused by a coronavirus and so far […]
Two-Thirds of Parents Can’t Tell Mood Swings from Depression in Teens
Razi Berry Telling the difference between a teen’s normal ups and downs and something bigger is among top challenges parents face in identifying youth depression, a new national poll suggests. The difference between a teen’s normal ups and downs and something bigger Though the majority of parents say they are confident they would recognize depression […]
Social Contact Important in Preventing Dementia
Razi Berry Being more socially active in your 50s and 60s predicts a lower risk of developing dementia later on, finds a new UCL-led study. The longitudinal study, published in PLOS Medicine, reports the most robust evidence to date that social contact earlier in life could play an important role in staving off dementia. Socially […]
Autism Rates in New Jersey are the Highest of Any U.S. State
Razi Berry A recent report from Rutgers University showed that pre-schoolers in New Jersey have the highest rates of autism ever seen in the United States. This observation is against a backdrop of increasing autism rates nationally over the last twenty years, but New Jersey seems to report rates of autism that have increased faster […]
New Studies on MDMA Show Possibility for Improving PTSD
Razi Berry Recent research into MDMA (ecstasy) has shown that the drug can induce a neural response that allows the brain to become more sensitive to the reward and value learning process of social behaviors. This “critical period” of learning is typically seen in adolescence when people and animals are most sensitive to the social […]
Common Mental State Test Lacks Clear Perspective
Razi Berry The test is deeply flawed How do clinicians rate how well a patient understands what other people are thinking and feeling? That is to say—how does the patient assess another person’s mental state? An accurate tool is key for measuring treatment outcomes and carries profound consequences for the patient’s mental and physical well-being. […]