Summaries | Headlines

Saliva Clue To Chronic Bullying (May 15, 2007) -- Hormones in children's saliva may be a biological indicator of the trauma kids undergo when they are chronically bullied by peers, according to researchers who say biological markers can aid in the ... > full story

'Virtual Iraq' Simulation To Study Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (May 15, 2007) -- Researchers are using a virtual reality simulation called Virtual Iraq to better understand how symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develop. In their ongoing research trial, ... > full story

Over Time, Those Who Find Inner Calm Live Longer, Healthier Lives (May 15, 2007) -- Worried sick: We've all heard the phrase, but now there's new evidence that might really knit your brow. New research shows that highly anxious patients with heart disease face nearly double the risk ... > full story

Cognitive Therapy Can Reduce Post-traumatic Stress In Survivors Of Terrorist Attacks (May 13, 2007) -- Cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder related to acts of terrorism and other civil conflict, finds a new ... > full story

Brain Anatomy Differences Found That Predispose Patients To Anxiety Disorders (May 11, 2007) -- A disproportionate feeling of lack of reward, or even punishment, is produced during anxiety disorders. Scientists have discovered that an excessive activation of the so-called "behavioural ... > full story

Bipolar Spectrum Disorder May Be Underrecognized And Improperly Treated (May 10, 2007) -- A new study supports earlier estimates of the prevalence of bipolar disorder in the US population, and suggests the illness may be more accurately characterized as a spectrum disorder. It also finds ... > full story

Traumatic Events, But Not Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Common In Childhood (May 10, 2007) -- Potentially traumatic events are common in children but do not typically result in post-traumatic stress symptoms or disorder, according to a new ... > full story

More Than 10 Percent Of Adults Abuse Or Become Dependent On Drugs During Their Lifetime (May 10, 2007) -- Approximately 10.3 percent of US adults appear to have problems with drug use or abuse during their lives, including 2.6 percent who become drug dependent at some point, according to a new ... > full story

Traumas Like Sept. 11 Make Brains More Reactive To Fear (May 8, 2007) -- Even people who seemed resilient but were close to the World Trade Center on September 11 have brains that are more reactive to emotional stimuli than those who were more than 200 miles away. The ... > full story

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Impairs A Person's Slow Wave Activity During Sleep (May 7, 2007) -- Chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with a blunted slow wave activity response to sleep challenge, suggesting an impairment of the basic sleep drive and homeostatic response, according to a new ... > full story

For Iraq Veterans, Migraines May Be Sign Of Other Problems (May 4, 2007) -- Soldiers returning from combat in Iraq who have migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to also have symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression or anxiety than soldiers who do not have ... > full story

Delayed Treatment Of Childhood-onset Bipolar Disorder Results In Negative Outcome In Adults (May 4, 2007) -- Bipolar disorder is estimated to affect approximately 1-3 percent of adults, but also can affect children and adolescents. Untreated, this disorder is associated with greater risk of drug and alcohol ... > full story

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Panic attack -- A panic attack is a period of intense, often temporarily disabling sense of extreme fear or psychological distress, typically of abrupt onset. Though it is often a purely terrifying feeling to the ... > full article

Phobia -- A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities, or persons. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Some ... > full article

General anxiety disorder -- General anxiety disorder or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry about everyday things. The frequency, intensity, and ... > full article

Anxiety -- Anxiety is a complex combination of negative emotion that includes fear, apprehension and worry, and is often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of ... > full article

Sleep disorder -- A sleep disorder (somnipathy) is a disorder in the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Sleep disorders include: Bruxism; delayed sleep phase syndrome; insomnia: jet lag or desynchronosis; ... > full article

Neurosis -- In modern psychology, the term neurosis, also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, is a general term that refers to any mental imbalance that causes distress, but does not interfere with ... > full article

Emotional detachment -- Emotional detachment can mean two different things. In the first meaning, it refers to an inability to connect with others on an emotional level, as well as a means of coping with anxiety by avoiding ... > full article

Psychological trauma -- Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. A traumatic event involves a singular experience or enduring event or events that completely ... > full article

Stress (medicine) -- Stress is a medical term for a wide range of strong external stimuli, both physiological and psychological, which can cause a physiological response called the general adaptation syndrome. There are ... > full article

Fear -- Fear is an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, whether it be real or imagined. Fear also can be described as a feeling of extreme dislike towards certain conditions, objects or situations ... > full article

Hyperactivity -- Hyperactivity can be described as a state in which a person is abnormally easily excitable and exuberant. Strong emotional reactions and a very short span of attention are also typical for a ... > full article

Procrastination -- Procrastination is the deferment or avoidance of an action or task which requires completion by focusing on some other action or task. For the person procrastinating, this can result in a loss of ... > full article

PMS -- Premenstrual Stress Syndrome (PMS, also called Premenstrual Stress, Premenstrual Tension, PMT, Premenstrual Syndrome, Periodic Mood Swing) is stress which is a physical symptom prior to the onset of ... > full article

Mental confusion -- Severe confusion of a degree considered pathological usually refers to loss of orientation (ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time, location, and personal identity), and often memory ... > full article

Anger -- Anger is a term for the emotional aspect of aggression, as a basic aspect of the stress response in animals in which a perceived aggravating stimulus "provokes" a counterresponse which is likewise ... > full article

Mental illness -- A mental illness is defined by the medical profession as a disorder of the brain that results in a disruption in a person's thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others and to ... > full article

Amygdala -- The amygdala (Latin, corpus amygdaloideum) is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain's medial temporal lobe. Shown to play a key role in the processsing of emotions, the amygdala ... > full article

Insomnia -- Insomnia is characterized by an inability to sleep and/or to be incapable of remaining asleep for a reasonable period. Insomniacs typically complain of being unable to close their eyes or "rest their ... > full article

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder -- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), or anankastic personality disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a general psychological inflexibility, rigid conformity to ... > full article

Personality disorder -- Personality disorders form a class of mental disorders that are characterized by long-lasting rigid patterns of thought and behaviour. Because of the inflexibility and pervasiveness of these ... > full article