Homosexual behaviour is largely shaped by genetics and random environmental factors, according to findings from the world’s largest study of twins.
Writing in the scientific journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, researchers from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm report that genetics and environmental factors (which are specific to an individual, and may include biological processes such as different hormone exposure in the womb), are important determinants of homosexual behaviour. [continue reading…]
Depression, which affects one in 12 people in this country, is one of the trickiest disorders to cure. While 80 per cent of patients find effective relief with standard drug or psychotherapies, the latest numbers suggest that only 40 per cent truly feel well. Worse, experts estimate that, for 10 to 20 per cent of sufferers, nothing works.
To the shock of many, and the horror of some, the most promising treatment for intractable depression on the horizon is not a designer drug, a new form of talk or even genetic therapy. It’s electricity. The same force that powers our TVs and microwave ovens can lift the human spirit.
With deep brain stimulation (DBS), surgeons implant metal rods that aim steady pulses of electrical current at the faulty neural circuits believed to underlie mental illness. Spaghetti-thin, the rods connect to a cable that snakes invisibly down the neck to a cookie-sized, battery-operated regulator embedded just south of the collarbone
A 12 step plan for CanadaÂ
For the past week, The Globe and Mail has delved into the plight of the mentally ill and their family members. Today, it outlines a dozen recommendations to create a basis for the comprehensive system that is so desperately needed. 12 step plan for Canada
This is your brain on Facebook. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine used concepts borrowed from the popular social networking site to analyze the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. They found that patients’ brains were less well-connected than the brains of people without the disorder.
The test, which relies on common brain-imaging techniques, may be the first step toward a new diagnostic tool to differentiate early-stage Alzheimer’s disease from other disorders.
“People can struggle with memory loss as a part of healthy aging,” said Michael Greicius, MD, assistant professor of neurology, “or as a result of depression or non-Alzheimer’s dementia. It’s important to be able to tell the difference.” [continue reading…]
