Futurity.org » stress

Girls ‘rewire’ brain to beat depression

Brooke Donald-Stanford — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:52:22 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Using brain imaging and a video game, teen girls at risk of depression are being taught how to train their brains away from negative situations.

An ongoing study’s early findings using a small sample suggest such rewiring is not only possible, it is surprisingly easy.

Endangered whales stressed by noisy ships

Karl Bates-Duke — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:43:13 +0000

DUKE (US) — Exposure to low-frequency ship noise may be associated with chronic stress in whales, according to a new study.

The study, conducted in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, has implications for all baleen whales in areas with heavy ship traffic, and for the recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale population.

Stress raises kids’ risk for teen obesity

Susan Kelley-Cornell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:08:06 +0000

CORNELL (US) — The more ongoing stress children are exposed to, the greater the odds they will become obese by adolescence, researchers report.

Nine-year-old children who were chronically exposed to such stressors as poverty, crowded housing, and family turmoil gain more weight and were significantly heavier by age 13 than they would have been otherwise, the Cornell University study found.

The reason, environmental psychologist Gary Evans and his co-authors suggest, is that ongoing stress makes it tougher for children to control their behavior and emotions—or self-regulate. That, in turn, can lead to obesity by their teen years.

Triggers differ for addicted men, women

Bill Hathaway-Yale — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:54:24 +0000

YALE (US) — The areas of the brain associated with craving have different triggers in cocaine-dependent men and women, a finding that suggests they may benefit from different treatment options.

A study published online in the American Journal of Psychiatry, shows addicted women’s brains are activated by stress—and men’s are activated by drug cues.

Breast cancer survivors benefit from mindfulness

Christian Basi-Missouri — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:22:52 +0000

U. MISSOURI (US) — Mindfulness-based stress reduction may ease recovery for breast cancer survivors, researchers say.

Women recently diagnosed with breast cancer have higher survival rates than those diagnosed in previous decades, according to the American Cancer Society.

English proficiency test gets ‘F’ for stress

Kristen Parker-Michigan State — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:00:24 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — The nationally mandated language proficiency test, given to students whose second language is English, causes psychological stress for children who can least afford it, a new study shows.

Without some major overhaul, the English Language Proficiency Assessment is expected to negatively impact the academic success of the country’s more than 5 million English Language Learners (ELLs, defined as those who speak another language), warn researchers in the journal TESOL Quarterly.

Pregnancy stress may mean fewer boy babies

James Devitt-NYU — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:19:40 +0000

NYU (US) — Stress in the second and third months of pregnancy may affect the ratio of boys to girls being born, leading to a decline in the number of baby boys.

The findings from a new study of pregnant women following the 2005 Tarapaca earthquake in Chile also confirms previous findings that stress can shorten pregnancies and increase the risk of pre-term births.

Dream sleep soothes painful memories

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:12:25 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — During the dream phase of sleep, the body’s stress chemistry shuts down, taking the edge off difficult memories. The finding may help explain why people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffer reoccurring nightmares.

“The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day’s emotional experiences,” says Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.

Bacteria flip on/off switch when stressed

Marcus Woo-Caltech — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:28:38 +0000

CALTECH (US) — Instead of shifting from one steady state to another in response to stress, cells use a pulsating mechanism—a simple series of actions that may also drive other cellular processes.

Researchers studied how a bacterial species called B. subtilis responds to a stressful environment—one without food, for example. In such conditions, the single-celled organism activates a large set of genes that help it deal with hardship, by aiding cell repair.

Mom’s nurture shields kids from chronic stress

Karene Booker-Cornell — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:45:52 +0000

CORNELL (US) — A sensitive, responsive, mother can help buffer the effects of chronic stress on the working memories of her teenage children.

A new study, published in Development and Psychopathology, shows how some children can be surprisingly resilient and seemingly unharmed despite growing up in difficult, high-stress situations.