The period known as adolescence is a significant time of change for the individual experiencing it. Some of the most significant changes that occur are located within the prefrontal cortex in the brain, which is involved in decision making, social understanding and the ability to view situations from another individual's point of view. But, adolescence is also a time where many youths begin drinking, which ...

Depression affects approximately 30 to 40 percent of nursing home residents, but it often goes unrecognized, according to American Geriatrics Society, which can lead to lower quality of life or even suicide. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found a series of indicators, other than changes in mood that are associated with the development of depression in nursing home residents. ...

A recent review article published by Loyola's nursing school researchers concluded that adequate intake of vitamin D may prevent or delay the onset of diabetes and reduce complications for those who have already been diagnosed. "Vitamin D has widespread benefits for our health and certain chronic diseases in particular," said Sue Penckofer, PhD, RN, study co-author and professor, Loyola University Chicago M ...

An autism study by Yale School of Medicine researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified a pattern of brain activity that may characterize the genetic vulnerability to developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Published today in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study could eventually lead to earlier and more accurate autism diagnosis. ...

New evidence that homeopathic consultations can reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis has been revealed by scientists from the University of Southampton. In a study published today in the journal Rheumatology, researchers found that arthritis patients significantly benefited when they received homeopathy alongside conventional treatment over a period of 6 months, but this improvement was due to homeop ...

At ages 1 and 1-1/2, children who get most of their sleep at night (as opposed to during the day) do better in a variety of skill areas than children who don't sleep as much at night. That is the finding of a new longitudinal study conducted by researchers at the University of Montreal and the University of Minnesota. The research appears in the November/December 2010 issue of the journal Child Development. ...

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center can now show, using functional MRI images, why it is that behavior in children and young adolescents veers toward the egocentric rather than the introspective. In findings being presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego on November 14, the researchers say that the five scattered regions in the brain that make up the d ...

A brain scan with functional MRI (fMRI) is enough to predict which patients with pediatric anxiety disorder will respond to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or “talk therapy,” and so may not need to use psychiatric medication, say neuroscientists from Georgetown University Medical Center. The results of the study are being presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego. ...

A new study has been released from The University of New Mexico School of Medicine comparing the mental abilities of teens that abused alcohol and marijuana to those who abstained from drugs. The results of this research are reported in the study Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Overall, this new study supports the idea that alcohol and marijuana use impairs the mental abilities of teens. ...

Regular exercise can reduce around two dozen physical and mental health conditions and slow down how quickly the body ages, according to a research review summarising the key findings of 40  papers published between 2006 and 2010. The paper provides an invaluable source for both news and feature editors as it is divided into a number of key sections, ranging from: "Why should I exercise" to "I'm too busy, I ...