Senior moments are normal — scary, but normal. Forgetting a friend’s phone number, a celebrity’s name, or even what you came into a room to retrieve are all part of the typical aging process. It’s only when forgetfulness …
Mental Health
Some State Sheriffs Want to Know What Drugs You’re Taking
Nobody wants strangers riffling through their medicine cabinet — least of all the police. But that’s what the North Carolina state sheriff’s association is seeking — access to state computer records that identify which …
The Great Pot Debate: Does Marijuana Improve Mental Function?
I recently tried to find some consensus in the research on whether smoking marijuana makes you psychotic — some data indicate that pot-smokers are more likely to develop schizophrenia, while other studies find that marijuana …
Having Kids, Especially Young Ones, Ramps Up Depression
Colic, crying, round-the-clock wakings — is it any wonder that parents experience high rates of depression in the first year after the birth of a child?
Recipe for Longevity: Social Drinking or Just Going to AA?
We’re so used to thinking of pleasurable things as “sinful” and “bad for you” that when the popular media, or science for that matter, attempts to validate our guilty pleasures — such as my colleague John Cloud’s excellent piece about recent research showing that heavy drinkers outlive teetotalers — skepticism runs high.
For Hoarders and Addicts, Drama is Trauma — Not Therapy
Good drama relies on conflict and confrontation — but that is not true of good therapy. In fact, if you are trying to change human behavior, kindness, empathy and support are far more effective than tough love and quick fixes.
Why City Life Adds to Your Risk of Psychosis
Life in the big city can be tough, and as many urban dwellers know, it can lead to feelings of isolation and even promote a greater risk of developing a mental disorder such as depression.
But what accounts for that increased …
Study: Exercise Can Protect People at High Risk of Alzheimer’s
Staying active is good for the body, and the latest research shows it might benefit the mind as well.
In a study of individuals who carried a high-risk gene for Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found that those who exercised …
Training Your Brain to Learn Better (Even Without Drugs)
I’m excited to be starting my “new school year” as a blogger here on Healthland — and what better way to begin than with news about boosting your ability to learn, using neuroscience! One of the hottest articles flying around the Web today is Benedict Carey’s great New York Times science story headlined “Forget What You Know …
Using Videos to Help Diagnose Autism in Babies
The causes of autism are still unclear, but evidence is building that early intervention — before age 1 — may help mitigate or even prevent the developmental disorder from occurring in the first place. Making such early treatment more possible, researchers now report a promising new way of detecting autism in infants as young as 14 months.
How Much Happiness Can Money Buy? About $75,000 Worth
People say money doesn’t make you happy. Except, according to a new study by Princeton University researchers, it actually sort of does — at least up to about $75,000 a year. In an article published on Time.com on Monday, Belinda Luscombe reports: “The lower a person’s income falls below that benchmark, the unhappier he or she
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What’s Sizzurp? Ask T.I. or the FDA
What’s syrupy sweet, deep purple and entirely hazardous? No, it isn’t this guy. It’s sizzurp, a popular drink made with cough syrup (usually the prescription-strength kind with codeine), 7-Up and Jolly Ranchers candies.
Rapper T.I. (real name Clifford Harris Jr.) and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle were arrested late Wednesday night …
Timing of Birth Linked to Cerebral Palsy
There may be one more reason for expectant moms to think twice before scheduling an elective Cesarean delivery to minimize the time they are pregnant. Researchers report that early or late delivery can increase the chances that a newborn develops cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a movement disorder that doctors believe …