Help with Memory Research and Have Fun

Posted on December 13, 2011 by CRH

From: Gert Storms (gert.storms psy.kuleuven.be)
Subject: word meanings

A couple of years ago, some researchers in Flanders, Belgium, started with a large scale study of semantic memory in humans. The goal of this study is to find out how the meaning of words is stored in memory. We gathered data through the internet using a task that takes just over five minutes. By spreading a call through email and social networks like Facebook, we were able to reach over 80,000 participants in Flanders and in the Netherlands.

Lately, several American and British university professors expressed interest in gathering a similar dataset for the English language. We would like to ask you whether it’s possible to put a call on your website to recruit participants for this study. The task is as simple as this: users are presented with 15 common words of the English language and are asked to write down the first words to come to mind after reading the cue words. The task is not long and most people enjoy doing it. It is important that we reach large numbers of participants in order to make the study representative for the whole English-speaking population, that is, from different nationalities. We try to reach as many people as possible by sending similar email to students, societies related to language, etc. The success of the enterprise depends on the willingness of societies like yours to spread the call.

The task is fully automatic and can be started by clicking here.

Prof. Gert Storms, Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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If you are thinking about suicide…read this first

Posted on March 8, 2011 by CRH

This is an excellent personal letter about being suicidal and is worth a read whether or not you are troubled with suicidal thoughts, impulses, or behavior.

The link is: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/

Suicide: Read This First was written by Martha Ainsworth based on work by David Conroy, Ph.D. To talk with a caring listener about your suicidal feelings, in the U.S. call 1-800-SUICIDE any time, day or night. Online, send an anonymous e-mail to jo@samaritans.org for confidential and non-judgmental help, or visit http://www.samaritans.org.

Posted in Depression, Difficult Cases, Mood Disorders, Suicide | Leave a comment

A Resource on Depression

Posted on March 6, 2011 by CRH

HCP Live: (health care professional): this web site bills itself as “the preeminent destination for physicians, pharmacists, managed care executives, and other healthcare
professionals who are looking for tools, techniques, and information that can
help them provide better care.” An immodest claim certainly, but the site has
multiple resources, not only for doctors but for patients. The home page lists all of the multiple health topics covered. This is a listing of the display on Depression for February 2011.

http://www.hcplive.com/publications/mdng-Psychiatry/2011/february2011/depression

Depression (Published Online: Tuesday, February 1st, 2011)

//The Educated Patient

Depression 1-on-1
This site offers information and day-to-day tips designed to help visitors understand depression and available treatments. In the “Understanding Depression” section is an animation that coincides with a narration on the biochemical process of depression throughout the body. Types of depression, including dysthymia and seasonal depressive disorder, are discussed here, as well as causes, and action plans. http://hcp.lv/fHq3RZ

Understanding Depression
This resource overviews the signs and symptoms that might indicate depression, noting that patients may have depression if “you can’t sleep or you sleep too much,” “you can’t concentrate or find that previously easy tasks are now difficult,” and “you feel hopeless and helpless.” The site also breakdowns how depression may be experienced differently in  specific gender and age populations, such as teens, older adults, men, and women. The various types of depression are also explored. http://hcp.lv/ez78LD

Depression Quiz: Test Your Medical IQ
Provided by MedicineNet.com on the main depression page, this quiz will help patients determine how much they know about depression and possibly shed some light on what they have yet to uncover. http://hcp.lv/eIUGsq

//Online CME

Managing Depression in Older Adults: Practical Approaches to Complex Patients
Credits:1.00; Fee:None; Expires:September 3, 2011; Multimedia:None
This activity focuses on assessing depression in older adults, identifying co-morbidities, implementing multimodal treatment plans, and implementing psychosocial interventions.
http://hcp.lv/ePKunX

Chronic Pain and Depression
Credits:0.75; Fee:None; Expires:Dec. 28, 2011; Multimedia:Audio/Slides
The “association between chronic pain and depression,” the longitudinal relationship between the two, and the use of anti-depressants are reviewed in this program.
http://hcp.lv/egxZy2

//From the Literature

Sleep Problems Early in Life may Predict Anxiety or Depression
Researchers studied sleep problems in infancy and early toddlerhood to examine whether they could predict the development of anxiety or depression at age 3 years. The study included data on the sleep patterns of 4,682 children age 2-24 months. The results demonstrated that attention should be placed on sleep problems in young children early on. http://hcp.lv/hcAafL

Sensitivity to Peer Rejection may Predict Adolescent Depression
Adolescents with increased activity in the subgenual region of the anterior cingulated cortex (subACC) may have a heightened sensitivity to peer rejection. Increased activity of the subACC has also been linked to depression. The researchers sought to directly test the “hypothesis that adolescents’ subACC responses are predictive of their risk for future depression.” They found that “subACC responsivity to social exclusion may serve as a neural marker of adolescents’ risk for future depression.” http://hcp.lv/h47vZk

Positive Feedback Activates Amygdala in Young Depressed Adults
Whereas past studies have demonstrated that depressed patients respond to negative social feedback with increased amygdala activation, the researchers for this study demonstrated that the same patients respond with increased amygdala activation for positive stimuli as well.  “Amygdala hyperresponsivity in depression is not restricted to negatively-valenced stimuli.” The researchers sought to test whether aberrant activity is demonstrated in the amygdala during both positive and negative stimuli. http://hcp.lv/hI6zMc

//Clinical Trials

Depression Management at the Workplace http://hcp.lv/gDilQS

Effectiveness of a Web-based Prevention Program for Postpartum Depression http://hcp.lv/fpw37Z

Effectiveness of Behavioral Treatments for Obesity and Major Depression in Women http://hcp.lv/f5IVWH

Psychosocial Treatment for Women With Depression and Pain http://hcp.lv/f2VNxI

Posted in Depression, Difficult Cases, Health Care, Mood Disorders, Sleep | Leave a comment

Treatment of Depression

Posted on October 6, 2010 by CRH

New treatment guidelines for Major Depressive Disorder were released on October 1. 2010, by Alan Gelenberg, M.D., chair of the MDD Practice Guideline Committee, and Joel Yager, M.D., chair of the Practice Guideline Steering Committee, both of the American Psychiatric Association. These new guidelines will help organize thinking about the types of care available for patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, a condition that affects nearly 17% of adults in the USA. Read more here (requires a .pdf reader such as Adobe or Foxit):

APA Releases New Guidelines on the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (10/1/10)

The full-text .pdf is available here:

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More on Pregnancy and Psychiatry

Posted on October 6, 2010 by CRH

A newly-published article describes the findings of scientists researching the brain functioning in mothers with postpartum illness. There are abnormalities in the areas of the brain involved in bonding with others. Read more here (requires a .pdf reader such as Adobe or Foxit):

Women With Postpartum Depression Have Anomalies in Brain Areas Processing Emotion, Imaging Study Reveals (9/15/10)

The abstract is available here.

Posted in Mood Disorders, Pregnancy and Psychiatry | Leave a comment

Cannabis Psychosis – A Review

Posted on September 24, 2010 by CRH

A good number of patients present with abrupt-onset psychosis occurring in the context of relatively new regular cannabis abuse. The patients present diagnostic challenges as the typically short duration of illness often occurs without any preceding behavior change. The clinical picture typically includes psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and loss of coherent speech. Often present are symptoms of dissociation including depersonalization and derealization. The condition often remits rapidly, with or without use of medications. Continue reading →

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Auditory Closure Problems

Posted on September 7, 2010 by CRH

Auditory Closure, or the Cocktail Party Effect – An Auditory Perceptual Task
C. R. Hillenbrand, M.D. 2010 0907

Auditory Closure
The “cocktail party effect” is the ability to discern your name being called in a crowded noisy room. You may not be able to understand any conversational threads as their individual volumes rise and fall, but you can nearly always hear your own name when it is called over this background noise. Continue reading →

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Treatment-Resistant Depression

Posted on August 12, 2010 by CRH

Treatment-Resistant Depression
Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH:

July 8, 2010     http://www.cmellc.com/Home/TreatingtheWholePatient/articleType/ArticleView/
articleId/4661/TreatmentResistant-Depression/

Question:

“Is it ever appropriate for me to tell my treatment refractory patients: ‘There’s nothing more that can be done to help you’?” Continue reading →

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Pregnancy and Psychiatry – Literature Review

Posted on August 11, 2010 by CRH

Literature Review on Pregnancy and Psychiatry

C. R. Hillenbrand, M.D.

Cohen LS, Altshuler LL, Harlow BL, Nonacs R, Newport DJ, Viguera AC, Suri R, Burt VK, Hendrick V, Reminick AM, Loughead A, Vitonis AF, Stowe ZN. (Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Clinical Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass 02114, USA. lcohen2@partners.org) Relapse of major depression during pregnancy in women who maintain or discontinue antidepressant treatment. JAMA. 2006 Feb 1;295(5):499-507. Erratum in: JAMA. 2006 Jul 12;296(2):170. Comment in: JAMA. 2006 Jul 12;296(2):165; author reply 166-7; JAMA. 2006 Jul 12;296(2):166; author reply 166-7; JAMA. 2006 Jul 12;296(2):165-6; author reply 166-7. CONTEXT: Pregnancy has historically been described as a time of emotional well-being, providing “protection” against psychiatric disorder. However, systematic delineation of risk of relapse in women who maintain or discontinue pharmacological treatment during pregnancy is necessary. OBJECTIVE: To describe risk of relapse in pregnant women who discontinued antidepressant medication proximate to conception compared with those who maintained treatment with these medications. Continue reading →

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Living with Dementia

Posted on August 5, 2010 by CRH

This is a lecture outline from a presentation on helping relatives cope with dementia in a loved one.
Dr. H

Living With Dementia

C. R. Hillenbrand, M.D., DLF, APA

What can I do about dementia? I can help my ill relative or friend. If I do that, how do I keep from going crazy?

We live longer than ever: in America in 1900,  men lived to be 55; now it is 78½ years. We die in one of three ways: 1. Suddenly, from an unexpected cause; 2. A steady decline from a progressive disease, with a dying phase; 3. Chronic illness declining slowly, with periodic crises, and then sudden death. Continue reading →

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