Study confirms the effects of early environment in the brains of suicide victims
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McGill University and Douglas Institute scientists have discovered that childhood trauma can actually alter your DNA and shape the way your genes work. This confirms in humans earlier findings in rats, that maternal care plays a significant role in influencing the genes that control our stress response.
Using a sample of 36 brains; 12 suicide victims who were abused; 12 suicide victims who were not abused and 12 controls, the researchers discovered different epigenetic markings in the brains of the abused group. These markings influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function, a stress-response which increases the risk of suicide. [continue reading…]
Artificial light affects us in subtle ways. At its best, ambient lighting can relax, soothe or excite, but used poorly it can drain us of energy and disrupt sleep. What if lighting could adapt automatically to meet our individual needs?
The result, say a team of European researchers, would be an improvement in the general wellbeing of anybody who spends long periods in artificially lit buildings, particularly the elderly and the infirm, but also factory and office workers.
“Studies have shown that the quality and type of lighting can have a significant impact on our health and comfort,” explains Edith Maier, a researcher at Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences (FHV) in Austria. [continue reading…]
In this Melbourne Conversations event, Dr Norman Doidge, author of bestselling book The Brain That Changes Itself discusses his research and relays strange and fascinating stories of the workings of the brain.
Dr Doidge – psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, author, essayist and poet – is joined by local brain scientists, Professor Fred Mendelsohn AO (Director Howard Florey Institute) and Ms Emma Burrows, who discuss the latest research out of the Florey Institute. The event is hosted by ABC Radio National’s Natasha Mitchell (All in the Mind), and presented by Melbourne Conversations in partnership with Future Leaders.
In the UK one million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years so there is a desperate need to find ways to prevent dementia. The British government has revealed plans for a memory clinic in every town in England, to provide early diagnosis and treatment for dementia.
The 5 year strategy to set up the clinics, provides extra training to GP’s to spot the eary signs of dementia so that families can navigate the care and support systems, and also raise public awareness and prevent the stigma surrounding dementia.
