Mental Health

Long-term use of prescription-based painkillers increases the risk of depression, SLU researcher finds
Opioid analgesics, or prescription-based narcotic pain killers, have long been known to reduce pain, but reports of adverse effects and addiction continue to surface. Now, a team of investigators led by a Saint Louis University researcher has discovered a link between chronic use of pain-relieving medication and increase in the risk of developing major depression. The study, which was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine on October 31 analyzed medical record data of about 50,000 veterans who had no history of opioid use or depression, and were subsequently prescribed opioid pain killers. Eurekalert!

Direct link established between stimulus-response learning and substance abuse
Véronique Bohbot, PhD, neuroscientist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, found that the region of the brain involved in stimulus-response learning is directly linked to the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. More specifically, she discovered that people who resorted to stimulus-response learning smoked more, had double the consumption of alcohol and were more likely to use cannabis. Her findings have been published in the most recent issue of Hippocampus. Eurekalert!

Lefties more likely to have psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia: Yale study
Being left-handed has been linked to many mental disorders, but Yale researcher Jadon Webb and his colleagues have found that among those with mental illnesses, people with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are much more likely to be left-handed than those with mood disorders like depression or bipolar syndrome. The new study is published in the October-December 2013 issue of the journal SAGE Open. Eurekalert!