Rats exposed to an antidepressant just before and after birth showed substantial brain abnormalities and behaviors, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Joël Coutu knelt on the cold cement floor of the pet supply store he managed in Montreal, his wrists bound behind him with telephone wire. He could feel the barrel of a pistol pressed against the back of his neck. “You’re lying!” the gunman screamed. “And I am going to blow your head off.”

[More]

Dr. Insel discusses the implications of comorbidity among people with serious mental illness.

Despite vast differences in the genetic code across individuals and ethnicities, the human brain shows a “consistent molecular architecture.” The finding is from a pair of studies that have created databases revealing when and where genes turn on and off in multiple brain regions through development.

In the past year, 45.9 million Americans above the age of 18 years, or 20% of 18 year-olds, experienced mental illness, according to a new national report. Mental illness amongst those aged between 18 and 25 years (29.9%) was more than double as high, compared with people aged 50 years or older (14.3%)...

Chances are, you or someone you know has had a run-in with bed bug s. It might have happened in a scrupulously clean bedroom. Or maybe it was a hotel room, office or college dorm. In the February issue of Scientific American entomologist Kenneth Haynes of the University of Kentucky explains how, after a lengthy absence, bed bugs are staging a comeback . The good news is scientists are intensively studying these insects, and their insights suggest novel ways of detecting the bugs and eradicating infestations. Some of those potential solutions are a long way off, however. In the meantime the best bet is to avoid bringing bed bugs home in the first place. I called Haynes to ask him how to do that and what to do if one suspects an infestation (eek!), among a bunch of other practical-minded questions.

[More]

PCE in drinking water linked to an increased risk of mental illness The solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) widely used in industry and to dry clean clothes is a neurotoxin known to cause mood changes, anxiety, and depression in people who work with it...

Some 45.9 million, or around 1 in 5 American adults (age 18 and over) experienced a mental illness in the past year, according to the US government's latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released this month...

Fed up with listening to your spouse or co-workers gossiping away? Leave be, says a new research from University of California Berkeley. Gossip helps to prevent bad behavior, prevent exploitation and reduces stress levels...

People with mental illness have gotten a bad rap in past research studies, being labeled the group of people with the highest return rates to prison...