Posts

A new study published in Progress in Neurobiology explores the power of scent in triggering memories, suggesting this ability comes from the connection between the olfactory system and the hippocampus in the brain. As part of the limbic system, the hippocampus serves the most primitive aspects of our brain, like memory, pleasure, pain, and motivation. It plays a critical role in our ability to form new memories and acts as a sort of temporary storage and command center for their organization....

Previous studies have found that psilocybin may be just as effective as long-established treatments for depression, and that psychedelic treatment with the compound relieved symptoms of depression for up to a month. The latest study from a team at Johns Hopkins Medicine, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, says the antidepressant effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy, alongside psychotherapy, may last a year or longer for some patients. “A growing number of studies are demonstrating that psychedelic-assisted therapy can have rapid and significant antidepressant effects, but the long term effects of this treatment are not well characterized,” says study author Natalie Gukasyan, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine....

In 2011, the U.S. began a national crackdown on prescription drug abuse, pill mills, and doctor shopping. In the years afterwards, deaths from heroin began to rise, replacing prescription opioids as the most common drug involved in overdoses. However, the idea that increased regulation on prescriptions drove people to switch to heroin seems to be mostly false conjecture. Data suggest heroin’s increasing availability had been prompting people to switch to heroin since 1995, long before the regulations were made....

As a patient, it rarely is necessary to know the half-life of a drug you are taking. But it can help to understand what this term means and how it might affect you during the time you’re on the drug. What Is Half-Life? A medication’s biological half-life refers simply to how long it takes for half of the dose to be metabolized and eliminated from the bloodstream. Or, put another way, the half-life of a drug is the time it takes for it to be reduced by half....

Muscle Tension The muscle tension associated with normal anxiety might involve a brief tensing of the back and neck that relaxes when a threat passes. The muscle tension described by people with anxiety, on the other hand, may include unrelenting aches and pains in overly active shoulder, back, neck, and jaw muscles. The tension might also include restless fidgeting of tense legs or grinding of the teeth. These manifestations of muscle tension don’t subside in the absence of a threat....

The order implements the ruling in the consolidated Supreme Court cases Bostock v. Clayton County, Altitude Express v. Zarda, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC. In that June 15, 2020 landmark 6-3 decision, that court declared that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination due to factors such as race or religion, extends to sexual orientation and gender identity. Under former President Donald Trump, the federal government had not formally implemented or enforced the decision....

The Research One of the active ingredients in ayahuasca is DMT, a psychedelic compound found in certain plants and trace amounts in the human body. DMT is considered a Schedule I drug and is therefore illegal for anything outside research. But underground, indigenous, and religious use of ayahuasca has expanded globally, and research has linked it to beneficial effects on treatment-resistant depression and social anxiety. For this particular study, researchers set out to analyze the ayahuasca experience outside of its original context....

This type of therapy involves hypnosis, which psychotherapists and hypnotherapists alike have researched. The need for hypnosis typically surrounds the fact that many practitioners believe that the subconscious mind can repress trauma if it was inflicted at an age before the mind could figure out how to process it. So the practitioners are typically trying to drum up memories through hypnosis. In “The Art of Hypnotic Regression Therapy: A Clinical Guide,” Roy Hunter, a certified hypnotherapist, notes that regression is simply moving back in time in your imagination....

Selective Mutism Symptoms If you believe that your child may be struggling with selective mutism, look for the following symptoms: Expression of a desire to speak that is held back by anxiousness, fear, or embarrassmentFidgeting, eye contact avoidance, lack of movement or lack of expression when in feared situationsInability to speak in school and other specific social situationsUse of nonverbal communication to express needs (e.g., nodding head, pointing)Shyness, fear of people, and reluctance to speak between 2 and 4 years of ageSpeaking easily in certain situations (e....

The high rate of co-occurrence between PTSD and substance use has caused researchers to take interest in better understanding the relationship in hope of developing more effective, targeted, treatments. Substance Use as Self-Treatment Substance use disorders are more likely to follow the development of PTSD, suggesting having PTSD somehow increases a person’s risk for substance use problems. One major theory about the relationship between PTSD and substance use is that a person’s drugs or alcohol use is motivated by their desire to escape or numb the distressing symptoms of PTSD....

While the occasional impulse purchase shouldn’t impact you much, ongoing, unnecessary shopping can. So, why do people impulse shop, and how can you limit it? A recent study from PLoS One evaluated how a person’s mental state and personality trait impacts their likelihood of impulse buying. Researchers looked specifically at the difference in habits between people who were more oriented to secure traits (“prevention focus”) or pleasure traits (“promotion focus”)....

Temporal arteritis is a condition that causes your temporal arteries, which are the blood vessels that supply blood from your heart to your temple, to become inflamed or narrowed. This condition is a form of vasculitis, which are conditions that cause inflammation of your blood vessels. Common symptoms of this condition include persistent headaches, fever, scalp tenderness, jaw pain, vision problems, and weight loss. While the primary blood vessels affected by this condition are your temporal arteries, other blood vessels, such as your posterior ciliary arteries, can be affected....

How Addictive Are Pain Relievers? There are different medications that can ease short-term or chronic pain. Many of these drugs fall into the opioid category. These drugs are also known as narcotic pain relievers and include morphine and codeine, as well as several synthetic modifications of these drugs. It is important to be cautious when taking medication for pain. In some cases, the treatment can pose more risk than the underlying cause of the pain....

In order to choose the best quit smoking app for you, it can be helpful to start by thinking about what you’re looking for in an app and which features might be the most helpful in your situation. This article discusses the benefits of using a quit smoking app and how to find the right app for your needs. Benefits of Using a Quit Smoking App Smoking is on the decline in the U....