On A Meaningful Life

Taming Stress One of my favorite biology writers, Robert Sapolsky, discusses the biology behind stress. While it's a bit lengthy, I think it would be useful for those who need to review psychopharmacology.

Genetic Clues Connect Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disease New research suggests that the AKT1 pathway is involved in both schizophrenia and bipolar disease. Keep in mind that there are probably many other factors involved in these two diseases. Still I think this is fascinating. More info to be found in the source report: Nature Genetics, February 2004, Gogos et al.

"Baby Steps..." Psychology Today has a bit on how to be perfect. While I'm sure they are being a bit facetious, I thought their pointers were useful reminders. • Break down the behavior into its component parts. Say you want to get more exercise, and you want to do it by running two miles every day before work. So you need to get up an hour earlier than usual (more if you’re slow to start), throw on your running clothes, drink a couple of glasses of water, take your Walkman, do some warm-up exercises, go out and run, do a few minutes of cool-down exercises, shower, dress, prepare breakfast, eat, leave for work. • Examine the consequences of both changing your behavior and maintaining the status quo. Change is frightening, and fears of the unknown make us cling to old behaviors despite our best intentions. • Build in as much positive reinforcement as you can. For example, plot the most attractive running route you can, one that takes you by some scenic spots. And w...

Determining When Someone Should No Longer Drive This is certainly a hot topic, in the wake of Santa Monica's Farmers' Market tragedy. APA provides a brief summary of a meta-analysis published in Neuropsychology looking at ways to assess 'driveability' in those with early stage Alzheimer's. Tests of visuospatial skills generally related best to driving abilities. They may be most helpful in identifying at-risk drivers, especially as visuospatial deficits are common in early Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The authors conclude that, “Although visuospatial deficits alone are not sufficient to recommend driving restrictions, the results indicate that when visuospatial deficits are present, clinicians should complete a careful evaluation of other risk factors.” They are a red flag to look for other problems. Reger et al. were surprised to see that attention and concentration tests may be less helpful than some other tests of functioning. Their effect sizes were si...

Women's Health Issues in the News: Cardiovascular Disease Glad to see more attention paid to women's health issues in the news. This report highlights how women are more susceptible to stroke than men. It seems women over 55 need to worry more about having a stroke than their male counterparts do. They have a one-in-five chance of suffering a stroke during their lifetime, while the odds are one-in-six for men in the same age group, a new analysis shows. It's the first time researchers have quantified the lifetime risk of stroke among men and women in the United States. "It gives you an idea of the magnitude of the problem," says study author Dr. Sudha Seshadri, an assistant professor of neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine. "We did not know that before for stroke, surprising as that may seem." Heart disease in women is yet another topic that requires more attention. The bad news is that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of ...