Letting loose with a satisfying string of expletives can significantly reduce physical pain, research has shown. But according to a new study, it doesn’t work as well if you make a habit of cursing frequently.
Addiction
Why the Myth of the Meth-Damaged Brain May Hinder Recovery
Methamphetamine is widely believed to cause brain damage and cognitive impairment in users. But this claim may be wildly overblown, according to a new review of the research.
Brain Changes in Video Gamers: Addiction or Just People Having Fun?
A new study finds changes in brain regions associated with addiction in frequent video gaming teenagers. But the findings raise questions about whether such research is really relevant to the understanding of true addiction.
Why Kids With High IQs Are More Likely to Take Drugs
People with high IQs are more likely to smoke marijuana and take other illegal drugs, compared with those who score lower on intelligence tests, according to a new study from the U.K.
Michael Jackson Verdict: Is a Doctor’s Conviction an Indictment of Modern Medicine?
Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty on Monday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. With overdose deaths tripling in the past decade, should Murray’s conviction be a lesson to other doctors?
Study: Whites More Likely to Abuse Drugs Than Blacks
Black youth are arrested for drug crimes at a rate ten times higher than that of whites. But new research shows that young African Americans are actually less likely to use drugs and less likely to develop substance use …
Is Nicotine a ‘Gateway’ to Cocaine Addiction (and Cancer)?
Some have claimed that tobacco and alcohol are “gateway” drugs that people use before turning to illicit substances. While causal conclusions are hard to draw, at least one new study in mice shows that smoking may indeed increase …
Are Doctors Really to Blame for the Overdose Epidemic?
Forty people die each day from what Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calls an “epidemic” of prescription drug overdose. Frieden largely attributes the rise in overdose …
How Being Socially Connected May Sap Your Empathy
Feeling socially connected is good for you, both physically and mentally, but in a paradox, it may also make you less empathetic to the plight of others.
The Tolerance Effect: How Drinking May Have Really Killed Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning, according to a British coroner’s inquest released Wednesday. The singer had a blood level of alcohol five times the legal limit for driving at the time of her “death by misadventure,” the …
How the Brain Chooses: Secrets From Parkinson’s Disease
How do you make a tough choice? For most people, the answer is to pause and deliberate, as the brain puts the brakes on its initial impulses. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) used to treat Parkinson’s disease, however, can interfere …
Steve Jobs Had LSD. We Have the iPhone
Days before Apple founder Steve Jobs died, the New York Times ran an op-ed proclaiming that “You Love Your iPhone. Literally.” Our infatuation with our iPhones is not mere addiction, but genuine love, the piece asserted, because …
Status: Drunk. Can Facebook Posts Help ID Problem Drinkers?
The next time some blustery college kid boasts on Facebook about how wasted he was last night, don’t just roll your eyes. He may be telegraphing he’s got a drinking problem, according to research published Monday in the Archives …