Category Archives: Mental Illness

May 05

Brainspotting: Are the eyes the window to the soul?

posted by

“On the first session, I started by focusing on a difficult memory while concentrating on the pain that it caused me … This pain reached a climax, then … it died down, giving way to a feeling of peace and well-being … I sometimes felt myself shedding tears, but for each memory, the pain climaxed […]

»»
February 24

The Neuroscience of Stress

posted by

Not to brag, but I would consider myself to be an expert in stress – not the study of it, but because of how often I’ve experienced it throughout my adult life (yay, grad school!). If you’re reading this article, I’m guessing you can think of a time when you’ve experienced stress, whether that’s cramming […]

»»
January 21

Ketamine and Psychedelics: Next-Wave Antidepressants

posted by

Ketamine and psychedelics are making headlines as new alternative antidepressant therapeutics. For years scientists have been studying the benefits of these drugs on the brain and exciting new research has led to the idea that our understanding of what underlies depression could be wrong and these next-wave antidepressants could be another remedy of one of […]

»»
November 12

How Light Leads to Darkness: A Neural Link Between Nighttime Light and Depression

posted by

Nighttime light exposure can lead to depression. A new study brings us closer to understanding why, and what we can do about it.

»»
October 29

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

posted by

What is anxiety? Many of us know how it feels; our heart rate increases, our minds race, our palms get sweaty. Maybe it’s before giving a speech or taking a big exam. Maybe it’s because we have so many work deadlines that we’re convinced our bosses think we don’t sleep. Anxiety is an incredibly common […]

»»
May 21

Get out of my personal s p a c e

posted by

How does the brain dynamically represent our personal space? It’s more interesting, and complicated, than you may think.

»»
April 30

Does cannabis help you sleep?

posted by

Marijuana is commonly used to help people fall asleep, but does the science back that up?

»»
January 09

Can we inherit family trauma?

posted by

The epigenetics behind “generational trauma” [En español] The 23 and Me craze has officially reached my family. Both of my parents were born in Poland so the results weren’t a complete surprise, but as we watched the site track generations of family history from a single spit sample, new questions came up. When my sisters […]

»»
December 05

When it gets dark, people get SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

posted by

Here in San Diego, we get a minimum of 9 hours and 59 minutes of sunlight, even in the dead of winter. Boston and Chicago get closer to 9 hours and Anchorage gets as low as 5.5 hours compared to Miami’s 10.5 hours. Does this dramatic difference in sunlight have any health effects? 1% of […]

»»
October 24

Is Addiction a Disease?

posted by

  While it may not seem obvious, this question carries a great deal of emotional weight to sufferers of addiction, as well as their families and friends. The answer to one question – Is addiction a disease? – seems to hold the answer to yet another question: Are many of the hurtful things I’ve done […]

»»