Psychology Space

Abnormal Brain Structure In Both Siblings - Addiction Only Affects One - A study conducted by Dr. Karen Ersche, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, England, and published in Science, reveals that one sibling who is addicted to drugs, and the other who is not, have similar brain abnormalities. These abnormalities come from an area of the brain that is vital for aiding people in exhibiting self control…
Addicts’ Cravings Have Different Roots In Men And Women - When it comes to addiction, sex matters. A new brain imaging study by Yale School of Medicine researchers suggests stress robustly activates areas of the brain associated with craving in cocaine-dependent women, while drug cues activate similar brain regions in cocaine-dependent men. The study, expected to be published online Jan…
Early Intervention May Curb Dangerous College Drinking - The first few weeks of college are a critical time in shaping students’ drinking habits. Now Penn State researchers have a tailored approach that may help prevent students from becoming heavy drinkers. “Research shows there is a spike in alcohol-related consequences that occur in the first few weeks of the semester, especially with college freshmen,” said Michael J…
Alcohol Consumption And Risk Of Colon Cancer In People With A Family History Of Such Cancer - A study based on more than 87,000 women and 47,000 men in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, looks at whether there is a link between colon cancer and alcohol, and if so at what level of consumption, and the importance of a family history of the disease. A total of 1,801 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed during follow-up from 1980 onwards…
Alcohol And Your Heart: Friend Or Foe? - A meta-analysis done by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) into the relationship between alcohol consumption and heart disease provides new insight into the long-held belief that drinking a glass of red wine a day can help protect against heart disease. “It’s complicated,” says Dr. Juergen Rehm, director of social and epidemiological research at CAMH. Dr…
Potential Target Identified For Anti-Craving Medications - Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential target for the development of anti-craving medications for people with addictions to stimulants such as methamphetamine. The discovery centres on a brain receptor related to the chemical dopamine, which has a complex role in addictive behaviours…
Endocannabinoid System Disturbed By GABA Deficits - Changes in the endocannabinoid system may have important implications for psychiatric and addiction disorders. This brain system is responsible for making substances that have effects on brain function which resemble those of cannabis products, e.g., marijuana…
Off-Campus College Party Hosts Drink More Than Attendees - On any given weekend, at least 10 percent of students at a single college could be hosting a party, and on average, party hosts who live off campus are drinking more and engaging in more alcohol-related problem behaviors than are the students attending their bashes, research suggests…
What Is Nicotine? - Nicotine is a nitrogen-containing chemical - an alkaloid, which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant. Nicotine is also produced synthetically. Nicotiana tabacum, the type of nicotine found in tobacco plants, comes from the nightshade family. Red peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes are examples of the nightshade family…
Does Inability To Express Emotions Affect Treatment In Substance Abuse? - Alexithymia describes a person’s state of deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions, and even though the rate for alexithymia in those with substance use disorders is reported to be almost 67%, there are few studies that have evaluated therapy in alexithymic SUD patients…
Worm’s Lifespan Dramatically Extended By Tiny Amounts Of Alcohol - Minuscule amounts of ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, can more than double the life span of a tiny worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans, which is used frequently as a model in aging studies, UCLA biochemists report. The scientists said they find their discovery difficult to explain…
Mental Illness Affects 1 In 5 Americans - In the past year, 45.9 million Americans above the age of 18 years, or 20% of 18 year-olds, experienced mental illness, according to a new national report. Mental illness amongst those aged between 18 and 25 years (29.9%) was more than double as high, compared with people aged 50 years or older (14.3%)…
1 In 5 Americans With Mental Illness, National Survey - Some 45.9 million, or around 1 in 5 American adults (age 18 and over) experienced a mental illness in the past year, according to the US government’s latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released this month…
When Housing For The Homeless Allows Alcohol, Heavy Drinkers Imbibe Less - A study of a controversial housing project that allows chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems to drink in their apartments found that during their first two years in the building residents cut their heavy drinking by 35 percent. For every three months during the study, participants drank an average of 8 percent fewer drinks on their heaviest drinking days…
Alarming Number Of Texas Teens Playing The Choking Game - Nearly one out of seven college students surveyed at a Texas university has participated in the Choking Game, a dangerous behavior where blood flow is deliberately cut off to the brain in order to achieve a high, according to a study by The Crime Victims’ Institute at Sam Houston State University…
New Research Shows How Neurons Interact And Could Lead To New Treatment For Addiction - Harvard scientists have developed the fullest picture yet of how neurons in the brain interact to reinforce behaviors ranging from learning to drug use, a finding that might open the door to possible breakthroughs in the treatment of addiction…
Mephedrone Users In The UK Are Ready To Try The Next Legal High, Despite The Risks - Since mephedrone was made illegal in the UK in 2010, the street price of the drug has risen while the quality has degraded, which in turn may have reduced use of the drug. New research published online reveals that young people who continued to use mephedrone after it became illegal would switch to a new legal high if it were pure and rated highly by their friends or on the Internet…
In Cardiovascular Disease, Is It The Alcohol Or Polyphenols In Red Wine That Benefits Patients? - Observational epidemiologic studies relating wine and alcohol to health all suffer from the fact that they, of necessity, compare people who prefer certain beverages, but not the beverages themselves. While there have been many intervention trials in animals, randomized trials in humans are less common…
When Anticipating Rewards, Adolescents’ And Adults’ Brains Respond Differently - Teenagers are more susceptible to developing disorders like addiction and depression, according to a paper published by Pitt researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study was led by Bita Moghaddam, coauthor of the paper and a professor of neuroscience in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences…
No Safe Level Of Alcohol During Pregnancy - The authors of a study published online on Tuesday that was designed to overcome the difficulties of obtaining accurate and reliable data in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome research, say their findings reinforce the warning that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy…
A Special UN Session On Mental Health Called For By International Health Experts - A group of international health experts has called for a special session of the United Nations (referred to as UNGASS - United Nations General Assembly Special Session) to focus global attention on mental, neurological, and substance use disorders as a core development issue requiring commitments to improve access to care, promote human rights, and strengthen the evidence on ef…
A Family History Of Alcoholism May Make Adolescent Brains Respond Differently - Researchers know that adolescents with a family history of alcoholism (FHP) are at risk for developing alcohol use disorders. Some studies have shown that, compared to their peers, FHP adolescents have deficits in behavioral inhibition…
Nurse-Delivered Brief Alcohol Interventions Acceptable To Hospitalized Patients - The U.S. Joint Commission recently approved new hospital accreditation measures related to alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for all hospitalized patients. Yet little is known about the effectiveness of brief interventions (BIs) or inpatient acceptability of SBIRT when performed by healthcare professionals other than physicians…
The Damage Of Alcohol By Timing And Exposure During Pregnancy Quantified By Researchers - Prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with a spectrum of abnormalities, referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Physical features of the more serious Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) include smooth philtrum, thin vermillion border, short palpebral fissures, microcephaly, and growth deficiencies in weight and height…
Comparing Alcohol Use And Other Disorders Between The United States And South Korea - Hazardous alcohol use and depression are among the 10 leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Many low- to middle-income countries have begun to see a steady increase in alcohol use and have entered the early stages of a tobacco epidemic…