Pornography addicts show the same kind of brain activity as drug addicts and alcoholics in response to the source of their addiction, according to a new study from Cambridge University. The as-yet unpublished study was featured in a documentary entitled “Porn on the Brain,” which aired in the United Kingdom in September 2013. The study…
Southern California’s first electronic cigarette expo promised to be “epic.” And like any good party, it briefly got shut down by authorities. How epic was it? So many thousands puffed away — or “vaped” — that the steamy haze set off fire alarms and forced the evacuation of the Anaheim Convention Center. Throngs of sellers…
In a major policy shift, the federal Food and Drug Administration seeks to place stronger restrictions on a class of prescription painkillers that contain hydrocodone, the highly addictive painkiller that has grown into the most widely prescribed drug in the U.S. The changes are expected to take place as early as next year. The FDA…
Video game addiction is an unofficial term used to describe unhealthy, compulsive participation in various forms of video games. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is considering making this condition a diagnosable mental disorder called Internet gaming disorder. In a study published in September 2013 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers from the University of…
Medical marijuana isn’t going away any time soon. Twenty U.S. states have medical marijuana programs (and two of those have also legalized the drug for recreational use) and the system in Canada is about to be ramped up in terms of production and hopefully, quality. The Canadian government legalized medical use of the drug in…
Anorexia nervosa is the classic eating disorder associated with a distorted sense of one’s own body weight and body shape, as well as a dangerous associated drop in weight levels. Doctors have known for some time that people affected by anorexia often have unusually high levels of cholesterol in their bloodstreams, even though they heavily…
A new study from Denmark shows that people who suffer from cancer when they are children are more likely to develop mental health problems when they are adults. The study also found that the young siblings of children with cancer are at greater risk for mental health problems than the general population. The study was…
Researchers who study anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders commonly focus their attention on psychological aspects of these illnesses, including one’s thought processes, belief structures and emotional changes. This focus makes sense, since these factors heavily determine the development of disordered eating behaviors. However, according to the results of a study published in August 2013…
The tragic mass shootings that seem to plague our nation have triggered much debate. The discussions center largely on gun control, with both citizens and members of Congress remaining divided on the issue. There are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment and the right to own guns and there are advocates for better control of…
While other forms of bullying are commonly taken seriously and relatively well-researched, bullying between siblings often gets ignored or minimized. However, two recent studies call attention to the potential pitfalls of discounting the effects of sibling bullying. One of these studies indicates that children who bully their brothers or sisters take this activity less seriously…