Psychology and wellbeing

Magnetoencephalography (or MEG) can detect post-traumatic stress disorder

A brain-scanning technique called magnetoencephalography (or MEG) could offer the first biological test to help diagnose and treat those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a study published in Journal of Neural Engineering.

With this technique, Apostolos Georgopoulos, a neuroscientist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and his colleagues correctly identified 97% of patients that psychologists previously determined were suffering from PTSD.

DSM-V: Introduction of Dimensional Assessments

One of the biggest changes anticipated in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) is the addition of dimensional assessments, explained members of the task force for the revision at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting.

"The extent to which it will be incorporated into the DSM has not been decided finally, but we definitely expect that the DSM-V will go beyond what DSM-IV and DSM-III gave us, which was categorical assessments with strict diagnostic criteria," Dr. William Narrow, research director of the DSM-V task force for the APA, said. "We're expecting that we'll be giving clinicians and researchers the opportunity to assess their patients beyond the strict categories and to use dimensional assessment of severity of a range of different symptoms that go along with these disorders."

DSM-V: Revision of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Manual, Interview video (May 2009)

Leaders of the American Psychiatric Association talk about the process leading to DSM-V (1), the psychiatry's classification and diagnostic bible, set for final release in 2012.

John Gever, MedPage Today senior editor, interviewed:

- Darrel Regier, director of the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education and vice-chair of the DSM-V Task Force;

- William Narrow, research director for the task force;

- Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist affiliated with New York Medical College and member of the sexual disorders work group for the DSM revision.

(1) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, American Psychiatric Association.

A Dose of Oxytocin Hormone Increases Generosity

As new research connects oxytocin to trust and generosity. Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak and his colleagues gave doses of oxytocin and a placebo to participants, who were then offered a blinded, one-time decision on how to split a sum of money with a stranger who could accept or reject the split.

Oxytocin, a hormone best known for activity during birth and lactation, is also a brain neurotransmitter involved in social recognition and bonding.

Emotional Eaters Susceptible To Weight Regain

A new study finds that dieters who have the tendency to eat in response to external factors, such as at festive celebrations, have fewer problems with their weight loss than those who eat in response to emotions (internal factors).

The study also found that emotional eating was associated with weight regain in successful losers.

Human Circadian Clock Does Not Adjust to the Daylight Savings Time Transition

When people living in many parts of the world move their clocks forward one hour in the spring in observance of daylight saving time (DST), their bodies� internal, daily rhythms don�t adjust with them, reports a new study published in Current Biology.

The finding suggests that this regular time change�practiced by a quarter of the human population�represents a significant seasonal disruption, raising the possibility that DST may have unintended effects on other aspects of human physiology, according to the researchers.

A Study Shows a Brain Limit for the Ability of Self-control

As human beings, according to the authors of a recent research on the underlying brain mechanisms of self-control, we have limited resources to control ourselves, and all acts of control draw from this same source. Therefore, when using this resource in one domain, for example, keeping to a diet, we are more likely to run out of this resource in a different domain, like studying hard.

Once these resources are exhausted, our ability to control ourselves is diminished. In this depleted state, the dieter is more likely to eat chocolate, the student to watch TV.

Potential New Approach To Treat Cognitive Impairments In Schizophrenia

A new study, published in Biological Psychiatry, reports important evidence for a potential new treatment approach for schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia has three distinct facets, often referred to as "positive" (hallucinations, delusions), "negative" (blunted emotions, reduced capacity for pleasure), and "cognitive" (impairments in attention, memory, and problem-solving) symptoms.

Teens Who Feel Relaxed After First Cigarette More Likely To Get Hooked

While personality factors often determine which young people will try smoking, it appears that it is the manner in which the brain reacts to nicotine, rather than personality, that is most important to determining whether an adolescent will become hooked on nicotine once he or she has tried it.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have conducted the first study to determine why some adolescents who try smoking get addicted while others do not.

How To Relax Daily For Good Health and Wellbeing

Relaxing benefits the overall physical and emotional health. Relaxing can combat fatigue, lower blood pressure, reduce muscle tension, reduce pain, improve concentration and reduce emotional responses such as anger and frustration and promotes sleep.

The October issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource provides the following advices for getting the most benefit from relaxation.