Latest Stress Stories

Scientists have discovered a cognitive biomarker – a biological indicator of a disease – for young adolescents who are at high risk of developing depression and anxiety. Their findings were published today, 28 November, in the journal PLOS ONE. The test for the unique cognitive biomarker, which can be done on a computer, could be used as an inexpensive tool to screen adolescents for common emotional mental illnesses. As the cognitive biomarker may appear prior to the symptoms of...

Public Library of Science Nutritional shifts caused by seasonal diets influence reproductive behavior in blue monkeys When seasonal changes affect food availability, omnivores like blue monkeys adapt by changing their diets, but such nutritional changes may impact female reproduction, according to research published November 28 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Steffen Foerster from Barnard College, and colleagues from Columbia University and the Smithsonian Institution. The...

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A new study from the American Psychological Association (APA) recently revealed that teens who are involved in the arts as after-school activities have a greater chance of feeling depressed or sad compared to other students who are not involved in these programs. The researchers believe that this is the first study to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and youth involvement in the arts. The study showed that...

Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Phobias are irrational fears. Whether it’s fear of flying, public speaking, snakes or the dark, these phobias are usually manifested after a traumatic experience that plants itself deep in the subconscious of the sufferer. A phobia can continue to hold sway over an individual even though that person can understand the irrationality of it. And if one avoids the source of their phobia it typically can increase the sense of worry and...

[ Watch the Video: Light Exposure Leads To Depression, Learning Issues ] Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Night owls beware: scientists from Johns Hopkins University recently revealed that when people routinely work late at night, they have an increased risk of developing depression and learning issues. This change is not only due to lack of sleep, but also a result of the exposure to bright light at night from items like computers, laptops and iPads. The team...

Children whose mothers were overly stressed during pregnancy are more likely to become victims of bullying at school. New research from the University of Warwick shows stress and mental health problems in pregnant women may affect the developing baby and directly increases the risk of the child being victimized in later life. The study has been published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and is based on 8,829 children from the Avon Longtitudinal Study of Parents and...

Why being preterm could impair memory, learning New research at the University of Adelaide has demonstrated that teenagers born prematurely may suffer brain development problems that directly affect their memory and learning abilities. The research, conducted by Dr Julia Pitcher and Dr Michael Ridding from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute, shows reduced 'plasticity' in the brains of teenagers who were born preterm (at or before 37 weeks gestation). The results of the...

Having a drink after a stressful day at work may seem like a natural response for some, but can your neural circuits predict when a drink or two will become problem drinking? A study published in BioMed Central's open-access journal Biology of Mood & Anxiety Disorders suggests that may be the case. The study describes a highly novel mechanism predicting problem drinking in college students from fMRI data measuring individual differences in the functioning of reward and threat circuits in...

April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Meditation has been part of the human experience for at least 5,000 years. Our first written records of the ancient art are found in Indian scriptures, called tantras. Around 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautma, commonly called Buddha, began teaching meditation as a road to enlightenment. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that Western professors and researchers began studying the effects of mediation in earnest. Participating in an...

Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently discovered that early family stress during infancy could be related to changes that occur in the daily brain function and anxiety of teenage girls. The data was pooled from a population study that looked at the relationship between stress and the developmental pathway of the brain. For female infants who lived in homes with stressed out mothers, they were more likely to...