Youths Making School Threats Have Significant Psychiatric and Experiential Similarities

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Amid spikes in school threats, school shootings, and the proportion of K-12 students requiring emergency psychiatric interventions and referrals at schools in the United States, attention is increasingly being focused on the characteristics and needs of youths predisposed to violence or mental health crisis. Decades of research have repeatedly found that students who threaten or engage in attacks against people and campuses … Continue reading Youths Making School Threats Have Significant Psychiatric and Experiential Similarities

Perception of Emotion in Psychotic Disorders

Wendy Wu ’22 Schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that alters perception of reality, is marked by deficits in emotional face perception (EFP). While previous research has shown how abnormal activity in certain brain regions correlates with EFP deficits, the significance of the connections between these regions has been understudied. Amri Sabharwal, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at Stony Brook University, focused on the amygdala, a … Continue reading Perception of Emotion in Psychotic Disorders

Increased Levels of Gray Matter in the Brain May Lead to Psychopathic Qualities

Joyce Chen ’23 Psychopathy is a genetic mutation in the brain that causes individuals to have egotistical tendencies. Such tendencies can lead to unwarranted actions such as crime or even murder, as psychopaths do not keep the wellbeing of others in mind. However, some psychopaths are capable of keeping their dark thoughts hidden very well, thereby having seemingly socially acceptable behavior. Recently, researchers from the … Continue reading Increased Levels of Gray Matter in the Brain May Lead to Psychopathic Qualities

Potentials of Ketamine in Treating Depression

Allan Mai ‘20 Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric illness affecting people on a global scale. There are very few drugs to treat this disorder, but the ones that do exist aim to alter the levels of neurotransmitters in the body. Ketamine is one of these drugs, and researchers have recently shown that the efficacy of the drug might be doubled as a result … Continue reading Potentials of Ketamine in Treating Depression

Scientists Pinpointed the Part of the Brain that Generates the “Ghostly Presence”

By Marianna Catege Even as the world becomes more and more science-based, ghost stories are still told and believed by some. Today, researchers are finally using science to tackle the unexplained phenomenon of the feeling of a ghostly presence. Dr. Giulio Rognini, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), explains that this vivid sensation is common in people who experience extreme weather conditions, such … Continue reading Scientists Pinpointed the Part of the Brain that Generates the “Ghostly Presence”

Infectious Diseases may Cause Major Depressive Disorder

By: Marianna Catege Depression may actually be infectious, according to Dr. Turhan Canli, the Associate Professor of Psychology and Radiology at Stony Brook University. His claim puts Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in a new light, one that suggests it can be caused by parasitc bacterial or viral infections. In this highly prevalent disease, with roughly 7 percent of the U.S. population developing MDD, symptoms can … Continue reading Infectious Diseases may Cause Major Depressive Disorder