Marijuana addiction increases the risk of death by suicide, homicide and other causes (such as car crashes) in youth and young adults with mood disorders such as bipolar disorder, a new study warns. For the study, the researchers reviewed data on nearly 205,000 young people, aged 10 to 24, in Ohio who were diagnosed with mood disorders from July 2010 through December 2017. Marijuana addiction (“cannabis use disorder”) was reported in more than 10% of people in the study. It was most common among those who were older, male, Black, and those with bipolar or other mood disorders, and a prior history of self-harm and previous mental health service use, including psychiatric hospitalization and emergency department visits. “We also found that cannabis use disorder was significantly associated with self-harm,” said study author Cynthia Fontanella, as well as “death by unintentional overdose and homicide.” She stressed however that the study couldn’t prove cause and effect. Fontanella is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral health at Ohio State University, in Columbus. “Marijuana use and addiction is common among youth and young adults with mood disorders, but the association of this behavior with self-harm, suicide and overall mortality risk is poorly understood in this already vulnerable population,” Fontanella said in a university news release. “These findings should be considered as states contemplate legalizing medical…  read on >  read on >

Noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain, fine-tuned to specific “circuitry” gone awry, might help ease obsessive-compulsive behaviors, an early study hints. Researchers found that the brain stimulation, delivered over five days, reduced obsessive-compulsive tendencies for three months, though in people who did not have full-blown obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It’s too early to say whether the approach can be translated into an OCD therapy, said researcher Shrey Grover, a PhD student in psychological and brain sciences at Boston University. “We need more research to replicate these findings. It will take time before this is widely available.” But the work, described online Jan. 18 in Nature Medicine, builds on a body of research into the underpinnings of OCD. Research has shown that people with OCD have difficulty processing “rewards” from the environment, Grover explained. So they become reliant on certain rituals, whether it’s compulsively washing their hands, making sure household items are placed a particular way or checking that appliances are turned off. Scientists have also found that certain brain activity patterns are associated with those symptoms. In fact, abnormalities in the brain’s circuitry are involved in a number of psychiatric conditions, according to Dr. Alon Mogilner, director of the Center for Neuromodulation at NYU Langone Health, in New York City. “Neuromodulation” is a broad term for therapies that use electrical pulses to alter the firing patterns…  read on >  read on >

Marijuana addiction increases the risk of death by suicide, homicide and other causes (such as car crashes) in youth and young adults with mood disorders such as bipolar disorder, a new study warns. For the study, the researchers reviewed data on nearly 205,000 young people, aged 10 to 24, in Ohio who were diagnosed with mood disorders from July 2010 through December 2017. Marijuana addiction (“cannabis use disorder”) was reported in more than 10% of people in the study. It was most common among those who were older, male, Black, and those with bipolar or other mood disorders, and a prior history of self-harm and previous mental health service use, including psychiatric hospitalization and emergency department visits. “We also found that cannabis use disorder was significantly associated with self-harm, including death by unintentional overdose and homicide,” said study author Cynthia Fontanella, who stressed however that hte study couldn’t prove cause and effect. Fontanella is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral health at Ohio State University, in Columbus. “Marijuana use and addiction is common among youth and young adults with mood disorders, but the association of this behavior with self-harm, suicide and overall mortality risk is poorly understood in this already vulnerable population,” Fontanella said in a university news release. “These findings should be considered as states contemplate legalizing medical and recreational…  read on >  read on >

Noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain, fine-tuned to specific “circuitry” gone awry, might help ease obsessive-compulsive behaviors, an early study hints. Researchers found that the brain stimulation, delivered over five days, reduced obsessive-compulsive tendencies for three months, though in people who did not have full-blown obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It’s too early to say whether the approach can be translated into an OCD therapy, said researcher Shrey Grover, a PhD student in psychological and brain sciences at Boston University. “We need more research to replicate these findings. It will take time before this is widely available.” But the work, described online Jan. 18 in Nature Medicine, builds on a body of research into the underpinnings of OCD. Research has shown that people with OCD have difficulty processing “rewards” from the environment, Grover explained. So they become reliant on certain rituals, whether it’s compulsively washing their hands, making sure household items are placed a particular way or checking that appliances are turned off. Scientists have also found that certain brain activity patterns are associated with those symptoms. In fact, abnormalities in the brain’s circuitry are involved in a number of psychiatric conditions, according to Dr. Alon Mogilner, director of the Center for Neuromodulation at NYU Langone Health, in New York City. “Neuromodulation” is a broad term for therapies that use electrical pulses to alter the firing patterns…  read on >  read on >

A study that examined how people walked through doorways provides new insight into anorexia’s effect on a person’s body image. It’s long been known that people with anorexia overestimate their body size, but this study examined unconscious body awareness — formally called “body schema.” It’s the innate ability a person has to orient themselves in a room and stop from bumping into objects. Body schema usually adapts to wherever a person happens to be,. but the new study found that it might not be as adaptable in people with anorexia. The researchers, at Ruhr University Bochum, in Germany, conducted an experiment with 23 people with anorexia and a control group of 23 people without the eating disorder. The participants were asked to pass through door frames of different widths, but weren’t told that was the actual focus of the study. “The [door] opening was adapted to the shoulder width of the subjects and varied between 0.9 times and 1.45 times this width,” said study leader Martin Diers, a research professor of neuroscience. Participants with anorexia turned their shoulders to the side with much wider doors than those in the control group, according to the report published online recently in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Lead author Nina Beckmann said, “This shows us that they also unconsciously assess their proportions to be larger than they…  read on >  read on >