Experts forecast an ongoing depression and cost of care burden through 2032 in Hong Kong The first depression health economic modeling study, led by Professor Shirley Li Xue, from the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), revealed that Hong Kong will face a significant and ongoing burden of depression from 2023 to 2032. While fewer than 20% of the cases are expected to develop treatment-resistant depression (TRD) or related comorbidities, this group is expected to account for close to half of depression-related medical costs in the… Read More
Opinion: Why involuntary medical admission and treatment won’t solve homelessness The housing crisis is pushing more and more people onto the streets. More than one in 10 Canadians report experiencing some form of homelessness in their lifetime. Read More
How stress changes our memories: Engrams and the endocannabinoid system may inform new PTSD treatments Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have uncovered that stress changes how our brain encodes and retrieves aversive memories, and discovered a promising new way to restore appropriate memory specificity in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Read More
Time in nature benefits children with mental health difficulties, researchers find A team of researchers from McGill and Université de Montréal's Observatoire pour l'éducation et la santé des enfants (OPES, or observatory on children's health and education), led by Sylvana Côté, found that spending two hours a week of class time in a natural environment can reduce emotional distress among 10 to 12 year olds who had the most significant mental health problems before the program began. Read More
Yoga, meditation, and mental-health businesses see more demand post-election At 7:15 a.m. Nov. 6, just hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the presidential election, the mood in a Washington Square West yoga studio felt heavy. Read More
Researchers recommend computer-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression/anxiety Computer-assisted cognitive-behavior therapy (CCBT) and mobile mental health applications warrant continued development and ongoing efforts to increase acceptance among patients and clinicians, according to a review published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice. Read More
‘It’s my brain’s fault’: Why teenagers often make less than optimal decisions Adults exhibit a general tendency to make better decisions than adolescents, and this improvement drives an increase in specific and more sophisticated choice behaviors, according to a study published November 14 in PLOS Biology by Vanessa Scholz and Lorenz Deserno from the University of Würzburg, Germany, and colleagues. Read More
Distinct neural circuits mediate anti-anxiety and hallucination-like effects of psychedelics, research reveals New research suggests that it could be possible to separate treatment from hallucinations when developing new drugs based on psychedelics. The anti-anxiety and hallucination-inducing qualities of psychedelic drugs work through different neural circuits, according to research using a mouse model. The work is published in Science. Read More
Pain and perception—exploring the mind–body connection in treating chronic pain Better understanding of the complex relationship between mind and body may provide new treatment strategies for chronic pain, say EU researchers. Read More
How to reduce social media stress by leaning in instead of logging off Young people's mental health may depend on how they use social media, rather than how much time they spend using it, according to a new study by University of B.C. researchers. Read More