news 2022

May 2, 2022 Waterloo researchers use survey data to uncover pandemic mental health insights By by Suzanne Bowness Writer If you feel more stressed than you did before the pandemic, you're not alone. Despite high rates of vaccination and our deeper familiarity with COVID-19, Canadians are still anxious.

Nearly one-fifth of teens and young adults engage in self-injury, while just as many teens seriously consider attempting suicide. Both are considered a risk for suicidal behavior, but studies of why people harm themselves, or think about suicide, haven-t been examined in a comprehensive way. Now, a new meta-analysis of 38 studies finds consistent results and themes: that people engage in self-injury and/or think about suicide to alleviate some types of stress; and that the perceived stress relief that results from thoughts and behaviors indicates potential for therapy and other interventions.

Talking therapies may improve symptoms of depression for people with dementia, finds a new review led by UCL researchers, providing hope for a group who typically do not benefit from antidepressants. Feelings of anxiety and depression are common in people living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment, but the best way to treat these symptoms is currently unknown, as medicines often used to treat these symptoms may not be effective for people with dementia and may cause side effects.

The CovSocial Project Analyzes the Mental Health and Social Cohesion of the Citizens of Berlin during the COVID-19 Pandemic In the CovSocial project, scholars and scientists led by Tania Singer from the Social Neuroscience Research Group of the Max Planck Society are investigating how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the mental health and social cohesion of Berlin citizens during the pandemic years 2020 to 2022.

More people are now more worried about their finances (38%), than catching Covid-19 (33%), find UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19 Social Study. The proportion of people concerned about finances is up from 32% in January 2022 - the highest level since the start of the pandemic two years ago - and likely reflects the pressures felt by the 'cost of living crisis'.

Feeling a sense of purpose or meaning in life is associated with a lower risk of dementia years later, finds a new review of evidence led by UCL researchers. The academics were looking at whether positive psychological constructs, which also included positive mood and optimism and found that purpose and meaning in life were the key factors consistently associated with reduced risk, they report in Ageing Research Reviews .

Hereditary factors are partly responsible for childhood anxiety and depression that persists into adulthood, according to University of Queensland researchers. In the largest study of its kind in the world, the genetics of 64,641 children, aged between 3 and 18 years, were analysed using longitudinal data from the Early Genetics and Lifeforce Epidemiology consortium.

While potentially crucial to preventing the spread of COVID-19, lockdowns are associated with increased rates of depression and anxiety as well as food insecurity among women in India and other parts of the developing world, according to a new research. The study from the University of California San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy finds that women whose social position may make them more vulnerable - those with daughters and those living in female-headed households - experienced even larger declines in mental health as a result of lockdowns.

We are more alike than we might think a study published in advance of World Autism Day suggests we need a more evidence-based approach to neurodiversity. Findings published in advance of World Autism Day (Saturday 2 April) reveal there are fundamental similarities between autistic and non-autistic people in mental processing.

The amygdala is a small structure deep in the brain important for interpreting the social and emotional meaning of sensory input - from recognizing emotion in faces to interpreting fearful images that inform us about potential dangers in our surroundings. Historically, the amygdala has been thought to play a prominent role in the difficulties with social behavior that are central to autism.

A year after being infected with coronavirus, those affected are much more likely to suffer from typical long Covid symptoms, such as fatigue, than people who have never had a positive PCR test for coronavirus.

On the second anniversary of Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, a new psychology paper highlights the mental health impacts lockdown had on those living in the UK. The first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, which began two years ago today on 23 March 2020, had a profound effect in increasing the prevalence of anxiety and depression among the general population, according to a new study.

The craze for psychedelics used for therapeutic purposes is real. However, the scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness and explaining their mode of action in treating mental health disorders is still very thin. A new study led by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a senior scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience (BRaIN) Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), sheds light on previously unexplained neurobiological mechanisms by which LSD is believed to relieve anxiety.

It is a common experience that, when you share memories with a friend, you can recount some events in much more detail than others, while other times, you mix up memories. But why do our memories change? It is all about the spatial context, says clinical psychologist Vanessa van Ast. When successive experiences take place in the same environment, they become more deeply imprinted in our memory.

People without jobs or with less secure housing have poorer outcomes when treated for depression with talking therapy or antidepressants, compared to more socially advantaged peers, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the new study published in JAMA Psychiatry say that addressing employment and housing needs may be helpful alongside depression treatments to support the mental health of people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

New study links moments of mutual affection and biological synchrony with better health outcomes and longevity. (Photo courtesy of iStockphoto) Hold back on the bickering. Couples who share sweet moments filled with humor and affection, and sync up biologically - two hearts beating as one - enjoy better health prospects and live longer than their more quarrelsome counterparts, suggests new UC Berkeley research.

People with mild cognitive impairment may not inevitably develop dementia By New research has found that people with mild cognitive impairment may not inevitably develop dementia and, in fact, having higher education and advanced language skills more than doubles  their chances of returning to normal.

The largest ever UK study to examine self-harm risk around pregnancy has shown that most women are generally less likely to self-harm during and after pregnancy. The University of Manchester team showed that in 1000 women, 4 are likely to self-harm over a year and this risk halves in pregnancy to 2, according to the research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry today (03/03/22).

The emergence of autism traits can result from different factors, such as a person's environment and genetic background. FMI researchers and their Novartis collaborators showed that exposing mice with an autism mutation to a new environment can trigger autism-like behaviors — through faulty signaling in the brain.

Reports of symptoms such as tinnitus and hearing loss during the coronavirus pandemic could in part have a psychosocial origin rather than being directly linked to COVID-19 or the SARS-CoV2 virus. The University of Manchester , and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) study, published in Frontiers of Public Health today (22/2/22), shows that symptoms - which by definition are not measurable - are a fertile ground for misinterpretation.