www.aspie-editorial.com

 

A curious case of a two year old infant who had a sponge-eating obsession. The report is taken from a small case series of compulsive sponge-eating in children, published in medical journal Acta Pædiatrica.

Remarkably, the child was successfully and quickly treated just by correcting low iron levels in the blood.

A general practitioner referred a 32-month-old girl with an obsession of eating sponge since the age of 7 months. The obsession for the sponge aggravated to the extent that she could rip the cushions, car seats and mattresses to get the sponge out. The child was noticed to have a strong, irresistible urge and was seen finishing a fifth of sponge from a cushion in less than half an hour. Occasionally she had been seen eating carpet fibres and tissue papers. She was otherwise a fit and medically healthy girl with a normal intelligence and behaviour. The examination including general physical and systemic resulted to be unremarkable except pallor…

Read in Full:  http://mindhacks.com/2010/09/29/taking-the-sponge/

 

By John M Grohol PsyD

In Australia, David Jones’ publicist Kristy Fraser-Kirk is suing the company she works for and its former CEO Mark McInnes for sexual harassment. David Jones is sort of like Macy’s, except it’s based in Australia.

According to news reports, Ms. Fraser-Kirk, 27, is suing David Jones, Mark McInnes and nine directors of the company. She is seeking compensation for a number of different claims, including breach of contract, as well as punitive damages of $37 million. Not exactly chump change. But then again, maybe that’s what it takes to send a clear message about how sexual harassment will not be tolerated in the modern workplace.

But due to the publicity surrounding the case in Australia, she’s now making a new novel claim — that the publicity has led to an “adjustment disorder.” So what is an adjustment disorder? How might it impact Fraser-Kirk’s case??

An adjustment disorder is simply the clinical label given to a mental health concern that is so new in an individual that it doesn’t quite rise to the level of a full-blown mental disorder like depression or generalized anxiety.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/09/29/fraser-kirk-and-adjustment-disorders/

 

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 29, 2010

We all know that the phrase heartbroken is reflective of a social rejection. New research suggests the phrase may also have some physiological truth as researchers determine social rejection does affect the heart.

Dutch researchers have determined social rejection isn’t just emotionally upsetting; it also makes your heart rate drop for a moment.

The report is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Research has shown that the brain processes physical and social pain in some of the same regions. A team of Dutch researchers wanted to find out how social pain affects you physically.

For the study, volunteers were asked to send the researchers a photograph of themselves. They were told that for a study on first impressions, students at another university would look at the photo to decide whether they liked the volunteer.

This was just a cover story for the real experiment.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/29/social-rejection-literally-affects-the-heart/18895.html

 

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 29, 2010 

A new study finds that stressed men have diminished activity in brain regions responsible for understanding others’ feelings.

In the investigation, researchers had men look at angry faces. The results suggest the silent and stoic response to stress might be a “guy thing” after all.

“These are the first findings to indicate that sex differences in the effects of stress on social behavior extend to one of the most basic social transactions — processing someone else’s facial expression,” said Mara Mather, director of the Emotion and Cognition Lab at USC.

In an article appearing in the journal NeuroReport, Mather and her coauthors present a series of tests indicating that, under acute stress, men had less brain response to facial expressions, in particular, fear and anger.

In both men and women, looking at pictures of faces caused activity in the part of the brain used in basic visual processing (the “fusiform face area”) and in parts of the brain used for interpreting and understanding facial expressions.

However, men under acute stress showed decreased activity not only in the fusiform face area but also decreased coordination among parts of the brain that help us interpret what emotions these faces are conveying.

In a marked sex difference, women under stress showed the opposite — women under stress had increased activity in the fusiform face area and increased coordination among the regions of the brain used in interpreting facial emotions compared to the control group.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/29/men-respond-to-stress-by-shutting-down/18890.html

 

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 29, 2010

A new behavioral model tested on mice suggests that early weaning and separation from their mothers promotes long-lasting hyperactivity and anxiety.

Researchers developed the model from observing mice and plan to use the model to investigate the long-term effects of early childhood neglect in people.

Arthur Simen and a team of researchers from Yale University School of Medicine, USA, tested their ‘Maternal separation with early weaning’ (MSEW) model in a group of 80 male mice.

He said, “Childhood adversity, in the form of abuse and neglect, is prevalent throughout the world and poses a significant public health problem. Unfortunately, the underlying molecular mechanisms of the consequences of early life neglect remain largely unknown.

“To address this, we devised a method of maternal separation that combines several published protocols in order to increase the likelihood of observing a reliable behavioral effect while minimizing fatalities to the developing offspring.”

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/29/early-separation-from-mother-leads-to-issues/18908.html

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 29, 2010

A new study suggests teens that experience the manic phase of bipolar disorder may be at risk for STI’s.

The finding augments prior research that determined teens with mental health disorders are more likely to engage in high risk sexual behaviors, like unprotected sex.

Researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center discovered teens that experience the manic phase of bipolar disorder are more sexually active, have more sexual partners and are more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

The manic phase of bipolar is marked by dramatic mood swings from euphoria and elation to irritability.

Researchers also found that teens with externalizing disorders (which includes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorders and angry, defiant or hostile behaviors like stealing) are more likely to be sexually active than their peers, putting them at higher risk for HIV and other STIs.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/29/risky-sexual-actions-linked-to-mania/18901.html

 

 

by  Manura Nanayakkara MBBS

 

Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic medication prescribed in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, Autism in children and early phase of the bipolar mania. Most common brand name is Risperdal.

 

What is the mechanism of action?

 

Schizophrenia and other psychoses are caused by problems in brain chemistry. Risperidone alters and corrects the brain chemistry so patient’s psychotic features disappear. Risperidone blocks both dopamine and serotonin in certain brain regions. Dopamine block explains its effectiveness in schizophrenia and psychoses. Additional serotonin blockade counterbalances the dopamine effects in unwanted brain regions and prevents side effects.

 

What are the main indications?

 

1. Schizophrenia: – Schizophrenia is the most common condition Risperidone is prescribed for. Schizophrenia is characterized by positive symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and negative symptoms like social withdrawal. Risperidone reduces positive symptoms as well as negative symptoms and allows the patient to function normally in the society. In addition, patients must take Risperidone for at least two weeks to feel a change. But the side effects will come before that and usually wanes after two to three weeks.

 

2. Schizoaffective disorder: – It is a disorder characterized by mixture of schizophrenic symptoms and manic depressive features. Usually patients have prominent mood symptoms.  

 

Read in Full: 

http://www.helium.com/items/1967636-what-is-risperidone-prescribed

 

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 30, 2010

Relatively brief intervention within 30 days of witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event may help protect children from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Statistically, after experiencing a potentially traumatic event as many as 1 in 5 children will develop PTSD.

The new technique, called Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) prevented chronic and sub-clinical PTSD in 73 percent of children and also reduced symptoms such as reliving a traumatic experience, sleep disturbances, emotional numbness, angry outbursts or difficulties concentrating.

In the study, 106 children ranging from 7 to 17 years in age and a caregiver were randomly assigned to receive the four-session Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention or a four-session supportive comparison intervention, both provided within 30 days following exposure to a traumatic event.

Children were referred by police, a forensic sexual abuse program, or the local pediatric emergency department in an urban city in Connecticut.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/30/brief-early-intervention-slows-ptsd-in-children/18970.html

 

Bill White Updated: Sep 28th 2010

I’d like to open with a poem I wrote several years ago, inspired by the late autumn landscapes featured in the film, Hoosiers.

 Quietly Gently

Quietly gently
Come along to a sensual vista of beauty rare
And stark measure

To a field at epoch in season changing
The bountiful harvest long ago reaped
Leaving the earth solitary and void

Take my hand and gaze with me
This montage of spectral twilight
Swirling on canvas of perfect horizon

Feel with me the chill of winter’s eve
And the warmth of wool
Follow trails of mist from deep in our lungs

The peace of the heartland
The praise of our souls

Shhhh silent now
Hear the wind dance with her lovers
How dear it is

Can you feel this joy
Will you know this pleasure
Quietly gently

The onset of autumn can be emotionally and mentally challenging for those of us enduring a mood or anxiety disorder.

Those with depressive leanings begin to anticipate the misery of seasonal affective disorder. And the change in daylight hours affects those who deal with degrees of mania. Anxiety disorder sufferers often have difficulty absorbing the profound environmental changes.

And, of course, knowing the holidays are within arm’s reach can bring despair, as well as joy. Both can have profound impact.

Read in Full:  http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=39667&cn=5