The spoils of war for returning veterans may include addictions, injury, and the constant images of horrific events they witnessed. Now a University of Houston joint study funded by the Veterans Health Administration Rehabilitation Research and Development service looks to address these issues through the use of virtual reality. Included in this report is a video with general information about this interesting use of computer technology.
Most people worry from time to time. A new research study, led by a Case Western Reserve University faculty member in psychology, also shows that worrying can be so intrusive and obsessive that it interferes in the person’s life and endangers the health of social relationships. Many of these people suffer from what is called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Case Western Reserve psychologist Amy Przeworski. Included in this report is video interview with Przeworski.
Practicing positive activities may serve as an effective, low-cost treatment for people suffering from depression, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside and Duke University Medical Center. In a new a paper that appears in the August 2011 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the team of UCR and Duke psychology, neuroscience and psychopharmacology researchers proposed a new approach for treating depression – Positive Activity Interventions (PAI). Check the end of this report for a link to download this study while available.
A new type of therapy may help people with symptoms such as pain, weakness, or dizziness that cannot be explained by an underlying disease, according to a study published in the July 27, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These symptoms, which can also include fatigue, tingling, and numbness, are also known as functional or psychogenic symptoms.
New discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction. A common beta blocker, propranolol, currently used to treat people with hypertension and anxiety, has shown to be effective in preventing the brain from retrieving memories associated with cocaine use in animal-addiction models, according to Devin Mueller, UWM assistant professor of psychology and a co-author with James Otis of the research.
Almost a quarter of men and women in England and over a third of adults in America are obese. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease and can significantly shorten a person’s life expectancy. New research published by BioMed Central’s open access journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity shows that improving body image can enhance the effectiveness of weight loss programs based on diet and exercise. Check the end of this report to download this open access study.
In a study published by a group of Finnish investigators headed by Prof. Karlsson in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, low level of optimism appear to predict initiation of psychotherapy for depression. The patient’s personality may also be one of the many factors that contribute to the decision to initiate a certain treatment for depression. The aim of this study was to examine whether dispositional optimism and pessimism play a role in the initiation of psychotherapy as the treatment for new-onset depression in previously nondepressed public sector employees.
Training teenagers to look at social situations positively could help those with anxiety and may help prevent problems persisting into adult life, new research from Oxford University is beginning to suggest. The researchers found that tasks designed to prompt either positive or negative interpretations of unclear situations can shift how healthy teenagers think about such events. The approach is called ‘cognitive bias modification of interpretations’ or CBM-I.
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