Harvard Mental Health Letter articles from June 2005

Harvard Mental Health Letter archives from June 2005

The biology of child maltreatment.
June 1, 2005... How abuse and neglect of children leave their mark on the brain. Scientists are discovering that early experiences can have profound long-term effects on the biological systems that govern responses to stress. If these systems lack the...

Deferring gratification: The battle in the brain.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... An experiment reported in the journal Science suggests that short-term and long-term thinking engage different brain systems, and observers can tell which is dominant by recording the brain in action. It's well known to economists and...

Tourette's disorder.
June 1, 2005... "My neck cranes to the right, then the muscles of the left side of my face and neck contract, squinting my left eye and tilting my head briefly forward. My left arm arises until my hand halts directly in front of my face. I am frozen for a...

In Brief; Antidepressants and empathy.
June 1, 2005... A study of depression treatment by family doctors has found that patients are more likely to improve if their doctors are good communicators -- but only if they also prescribe adequate medication. More than 200 depressed patients of 18...

In brief; Feeling bad in America.
June 1, 2005... Revealing information on the mental health of Americans appears in data from three random telephone surveys of the adult population by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. One survey...

In brief; Mental illness in the emergency room.
June 1, 2005... A study shows that psychiatric diagnosis is neglected in emergency rooms, and racial bias or misunderstanding may be part of the problem. Researchers examined the records of more than 33,000 adolescent and adult patients admitted to...

Questions & Answers: Does cognitive behavior therapy help panic attacks?
June 1, 2005... Q. How well does cognitive behavior therapy work for panic disorder? A. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a good treatment for panic attacks -- sudden, intense surges of anxiety accompanied by uncomfortable physical symptoms that...