Mental health

The pain of social exclusion
We would like to do without pain and yet without it we wouldn't be able to survive. Pain signals dangerous stimuli (internal or external) and guides our behaviour. Its ultimate goal is to prioritize escape, recovery and healing. That's why we feel it and why we're also good at detecting it in others. Pain in fact protects not only the individual but also his social bonds. The brain contains circuits related to the more physical aspects of pain and others related to affective aspects. As observed in a study just published by Giorgia Silani, Giovanni Novembre and Marco Zanon of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, social pain activates some brain circuits of physical pain whether we feel it personally or when we experience it vicariously as an empathic response to other people's pain. Eurekalert!

Hospitalization increases risk of depression and dementia for seniors
"There appears to be a bidirectional relationship between adverse mental health and bad medical outcomes," said lead study author Dimitry Davydow, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of Washington. Among older people, dementia and depression appears to increase the risk of hospitalization, which might lead to further cognitive decline or depression and subsequent risk for re-hospitalization, perpetuating a vicious cycle, Davydow explained. MedicalXpress

Researchers identify brain differences linked to insomnia
"Insomnia is not a nighttime disorder," says study leader Rachel E. Salas, M.D., an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "It's a 24-hour brain condition, like a light switch that is always on. Our research adds information about differences in the brain associated with it."

Salas and her team, reporting in the March issue of the journal Sleep, found that the motor cortex in those with chronic insomnia was more adaptable to change—more plastic—than in a group of good sleepers. They also found more "excitability" among neurons in the same region of the brain among those with chronic insomnia, adding evidence to the notion that insomniacs are in a constant state of heightened information processing that may interfere with sleep. MedicalXpress

Frequent childhood nightmares may indicate an increased risk of psychotic traits
The study, published today in the journal SLEEP, shows that children reporting frequent nightmares before the age of 12 were three and a half times more likely to suffer from psychotic experiences in early adolescence. Similarly, experiencing night terrors doubled the risk of such problems, including hallucinations, interrupted thoughts or delusions. Younger children, between two and nine years old, who had persistent nightmares reported by parents had up to one and a half times increased risk of developing psychotic experiences. MedicalXpress

The state of mental health treatment in the United States
Paul Summergrad: Probably 25 percent of the U.S. population has some form of mental health disorder. We're not talking about disorders that affect somebody else. It's not like people with mental illness are a special category living someplace else. They are our brothers and sisters, our parents and grandparents, our kids with ADHD or autism, our neighbors with depression or anxiety. MedicalXpress