Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Psychology / Psychiatry News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/psychology-psychiatry/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sun, 11 May 2008 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106941.php Which is better, giving more food to a few hungry people or letting some food go to waste so that everyone gets a share? A study appearing this week in Science finds that most people choose the latter, and that the brain responds in unique ways to inefficiency and inequity. Sun, 11 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106914.php The first national study of Asians living in the United States shows that for some individuals, strong ties to their ethnicity can guard against the negative effects of racism. For others, strong ties to ethnicity can actually make the negative effects of discrimination worse. And the mental health effects of such discrimination may shift over a lifetime as Asian-Americans continue to examine their ethnic ties, say researchers. Sat, 10 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106762.php For children of divorce, what happens after their parents split up may be just as important to their long-term well-being as the divorce itself.A new study found that children who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced fared much worse as adults on a variety of measures compared to children who had stable post-divorce family situations. Sat, 10 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106612.php Pregnant women may still face judgment and obstacles to getting jobs, shows two recent studies by George Mason University and Rice University professors.The studies, co-written by Eden King of Mason, Michelle Hebl of Rice and their collaborators, explored different interpersonal reactions that pregnant women face in their daily lives. It was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Fri, 09 May 2008 15:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106960.php The University of Leicester is leading on a national study to calculate the number of adults with autism, it has been announced. Professor Terry Brugha, Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Health Sciences is spearheading the study in conjunction with a team of research experts including the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), Research Autism and Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre. It will report in 2009. Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106961.php US scientists studying how the brain behaves during decision making have discovered that when people are confronted with moral decisions, they think about efficiency in one part of the brain, and equity in another part of the brain that deals with emotions, and the latter tends to win, suggesting that a sense of fairness is fundamental to human nature. Fri, 09 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106880.php The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services will launch a pilot project to provide no-cost HIV testing and counseling in certain regions of the country to mark its National HIV Testing Day on May 9, Namibia's New Era reports. Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106930.php Commenting on the release of the Department of Health's 2008 survey into public attitudes towards mental ill health, Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "Overall, the general picture is that attitudes towards mental health are at best static - it's the reason why some of the leading mental health charities got together to form Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106825.php Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOMX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the in-licensing and development of proprietary product candidates for the treatment of diseases and disorders in the fields of psychiatry and neurology, announced that data from three Phase 3 clinical trials of the company's product candidate SILENOR™ (doxepin HCl) for the treatment of insomnia were presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 161st annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Fri, 09 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106807.php Mental health charity Rethink has branded findings released by the Department of Health on attitudes towards people with mental health problems as "shocking, ignorant, and unacceptable in today's society. Thu, 08 May 2008 13:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106833.php Joseph Fritzl says he knew Elizabeth did not want him to do what he was doing to her - having sex with her - but it was "like an addiction". We added that he wanted to have children with her. He said he knew the whole time that was he was doing was wrong. He sometimes wondered whether he was crazy for doing such acts. However, his double life became quite "matter of fact", he says. He had two families, one upstairs and the other downstairs - two parallel lives. Thu, 08 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106798.php A study of patients with psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia suggests an alternative explanation for why many sufferers lack motivation. The research is described in BioMed Central's journal BMC Psychiatry.In addition to the hallucinations that often characterize schizophrenia, patients also have major problems with apathy and lack of motivation. Thu, 08 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106729.php The haunting images of children huddled in refugee camps and exposed to violence in war zones appear on millions of television screens and in newspapers everyday worldwide. Children continue to be burdened by the emotional and physical scars of violent homes and communities. Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106679.php Patients receiving paliperidone extended-release tablets (paliperidone ER) spent significantly fewer days in the hospital, had significantly fewer emergency room and psychiatric-related office visits, and fewer psychotherapy sessions, compared with the year before starting treatment, according to a new analysis of data presented at the 161st Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in Washington, D.C. Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106677.php Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) announced that study results show Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate) significantly improved symptoms of depression as compared to placebo treatment and was well tolerated in adolescents, aged 12-17, with major depressive disorder (MDD), according to phase III data presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106639.php A study published in the open-access journal PLoS Onedemonstrates how environment affected the genes in brains of suicidevictims. The researchers, led by Moshe Szyfa (Department ofPharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal,Quebec), found real differences between brains of men who committedsuicide and the brains of men who did not. Wed, 07 May 2008 13:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106622.php The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is honoring 30 doctors as "Exemplary Psychiatrists" at the annual conference of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the nation's capital this week. "We are proud to honor 30 psychiatrists from 21 states, who are stars within the nation's mental healthcare system," said NAMI national executive director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. Wed, 07 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106608.php A new revision of clinical guidelines to help doctors manage patients with depression has challenged the rationale behind the UK government's policy of rolling out of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for milder depression.According to a comprehensive review of treatments for depression, there is a lack of evidence for CBT being more helpful than other forms of psychological support in mild depression or for its efficacy in severe depression. Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106597.php A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reports that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview - -the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106585.php Gambling activity is widespread among U.S. adolescents and young adults ages 14 through 21, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA). Results of the first national survey of its kind show problem gambling -- described as gambling with three or more negative consequences (for example, gambling more than you intended or stealing money to gamble) in the past year -- occurring at a rate of 2. Wed, 07 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106580.php For the first time, a researcher from China has received one of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) prestigious "Young Minds in Psychiatry" awards, which were presented today at the APA's 161st Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The awards, supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), are helping to address the substantial shortage of psychiatric researchers worldwide. Wed, 07 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106564.php Major mental disorders cost the nation at least $193 billion annually in lost earnings alone, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study was published in the May 2008 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Wed, 07 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106529.php Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASPM) will present study results from the BRITE (Biomarkers for Rapid Identification of Treatment Effectiveness) trial in major depression at the Society of Biological Psychiatry and American Psychiatric Association Annual Meetings in Washington D.C. this week. Tue, 06 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106436.php Rising gas prices are affecting more than the family budget. More pain at the pump results in more employee stress on the job, says Wayne Hochwarter, the Jim Moran Professor of Management at Florida State University's College of Business."People concerned with the effects of gas prices were significantly less attentive on the job, less excited about going to work, less passionate and conscientious and more tense," Hochwarter said. Tue, 06 May 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106318.php Older adults with low blood levels of vitamin D and high blood levels of a hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands may have a higher risk of depression, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.