Diagnosing Alzheimer’s
Used to be there was no way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease during a patient’s lifetime. Now, maybe, change.
A PET scan showed amyloid exactly where it would be expected. The Swedish doctors were convinced they were seeing actual plaque. They told Dr. Mathis it was time to celebrate.
Stress and Relapse
Ignored stress brings cravings, then relapse, says study.
Researchers supplied Palm Pilots to 55 college students who were in recovery from substance abuse ranging from alcohol to cocaine and club drugs. The students were asked to record the their daily cravings for alcohol and other drugs, as well as the intensity of negative social experiences — hostility, insensitivity, interference, and ridicule — and their general strategies for coping with stress…
Vacation Science
The Boston Globe looks at the science of taking a good vacation.
For psychologists and behavioral economists, vacations are a window into the still only dimly understood mystery of human pleasure, a field known as hedonic psychology. Their research, along with other work on prototypically pleasant (and unpleasant) experiences, has begun to yield a portrait of your mind on vacation. And if the findings tell us anything, it’s that we might actually need some help. When we guess the best way to spend our free time, it seems that we often guess wrong.
For a summary, discussion, and objecting-to of the article, try the Slate Culture Gabfest.
Benefits of Caretaking
Taking care of a spouse who is ill can increase anxiety and depression, however…
[A study] found that when spouses were engaged in active caring tasks they had an increase in positive emotions, while time spent in passive care tended to provoke more negative emotions. Spouses who viewed themselves as sharing a mutually close relationship with their spouse had even higher levels of positive emotion while engaged in active caring.
Blame the Brain
PsychCentral: Personality Reflects Size of Respective Brain Area.
For example, conscientious people tend to have a bigger lateral prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in planning and controlling behavior…
Perceived Loneliness
How lonely you are has to do with how lonely you think you are, says a study.
The team found that, above all, loneliness is a matter of perception. “Loneliness is the discrepancy between your achieved and desired level of social contact, and that has important implications,” Segrin said. “The portrait of a lonely person is very difficult to paint because what is really important is what is in your head.”
Why Couples Fight
You probably have a pretty good idea why you fight as a couple. But here’s a study to tell you all about it.
[The study] identified the first type of underlying concern as perceived threat, which involves a perception that one’s partner is being hostile, critical, blaming or controlling.
The second type of concern is called perceived neglect, which involves a perception that one’s partner is failing to make a desired contribution or failing to demonstrate an ideal level of commitment or investment in the relationship.
Omega-3s v. Depression
Talk to your doctor or psychiatrist about these things, but…
A major new study by several Canadian universities suggests the use of omega-3 supplements is effective among patients with major depression who do not have anxiety disorders.
Exercise v. Alcoholism
Is there anything running around the block won’t do? Exercise may be an effective and nonpharmacologic treatment option for alcohol dependence.
A new study of the relationship between alcohol intake and wheel-running in hamsters has found that exercise may provide an effective alternative for reducing alcohol intake in humans…
Tanning Addiction?
Another behavior in the addiction spotlight: UV abuse.
As with alcohol, not everyone who is exposed becomes dependent on the sun. But there are enough UV abusers — one in five college students, perhaps half of beach habitués and 70 percent of indoor tanners, according to various studies — to warrant a new medical diagnostic category: tanning addiction.