What are the effects of social media use on mental health and psychological well-being? On the one hand, social media use may theoretically confer emotional benefits via connection with others. On the other hand previous studies suggest a correlation between social media use and depressive symptoms. To answer this question, Primack et alia (2018) surveyed over a thousand American students and asked them about their positive and negative experiences on social media. The researchers also assessed depressive symptoms. After controlling for such factors as sex, ethnicity, and relationship status, it appeared that each 10% increase in positive experiences on social media was associated with a 4% decrease in depressive symptoms. However, each 10% increase in negative experiences was associated with a 20% increase. It thus seems that negative experiences online have higher potency than positive ones. To put it simply, they can do both good and bad--but more bad than good, overall. Source: Primack et alia (2018)
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Aquatic sleep could hold the secret of REM. Like many other animals, human beings have two types of sleep: REM (rapid eye movement) and n-REM (non-rapid eye movement.) Although it is known that the former is associated with dreaming and essential to physical and psychological health, its actual function is still a mystery. Recently, however, a group of researcher has proposed an interesting theory based on an animal study. Seals, they found, sleep very muh like human beings when on land, experiencing the same kind of REM. But seals spend most of their time in water. And, when in water, half their brain is always awake, while the other only experiences non-REM sleep. Based on this, it was hypothesized that REM sleep, which is known to warm the brain, functions to reverse the reduced metabolism and brain cooling that occurs in n-REM sleep. This warming could be a preparation for waking, which is consistent with the fact that human beings are much more alert when they wake up from REM sleep. With half their brain always awake, REM would then be logically unnecessary in aquatic animals. Interestingly, this theory could help explain narcolepsy, which is characterized by a disruption of the REM sleep mechanism. Source: Lyamin et alia (2018) A simple test could help determine the most effective treatment for individuals with depression.
The most common treatments for depression are medication and cognitive-behavioral “talk” therapy. Up until now, deciding which one was best suited for each particular patient was more Art than science. But this might change, thanks to a recent study that investigated reward positivity in depressed patients. Reward positivity is a change in brain activity in response to rewarding stimuli that can be observed very simply, using a well-established technology (electroencephalography, or EEG) capturing electrical signal emitted by the brain through electrodes placed all over the scalp. In their study, Burkhouse et alia demonstrated that depressed individuals tend to have a lower reward positivity--which increases with successful treatment. Actually, the correlation could offer the possibility to measure objectively the success of a therapeutic strategy. Moreover, the improvement was stronger for patients with the lowest baseline reward positivity and given antidepressants. This suggests that simple EEG tests could be used to determine if a given patient does require medication, or would benefit from CBT alone. Source: Burkhouse et alia (2018) |
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