Rodent insanity

Mouse Model Of Schizophrenia Is Developed

liz | 5:53 PM | Uncategorized

Mind Over (Brain) Matter

The subconscious mind may be more accessible than we think, according to research cited in the New York Times. Benedict Carey writes:

In another experiment, published in 2005, Dutch psychologists had undergraduates sit in a cubicle and fill out a questionnaire. Hidden in the room was a bucket of water with a splash of citrus-scented cleaning fluid, giving off a faint odor. After completing the questionnaire, the young men and women had a snack, a crumbly biscuit provided by laboratory staff members.

The researchers covertly filmed the snack time and found that these students cleared away crumbs three times more often than a comparison group, who had taken the same questionnaire in a room with no cleaning scent. “That is a very big effect, and they really had no idea they were doing it,” said Henk Aarts, a psychologist at Utrecht University and the senior author of the study.

The article is completely fascinating, and it’s nice to see coverage of the brain that emphasizes something other than chemical reactions and genetic sequencing.

Who’s Minding the Mind?

liz | 1:13 PM | Uncategorized

Keeping children out of hospitals

EVS sends this link: State care, minus the institution

It’s a lengthy article about treating mentally ill kids at home instead of in hospitals. I think that’s a good idea. When I was 5, I got severe third-degree burns on my stomach, pelvic area and upper thighs. The hospital wanted me to stay in a burn unit for a long time so that they could attend to the burns. My mother fought them. She knew if I had that experience I’d be traumatized, so she had them teach her how to care for me and change the dressings, etc. It was a great decision. My parents and older sister tried to make everything a game for me during that time. My sister and I played “Ambulance,” which helped me work through the fear of being rushed to the hospital. I took a marker and drew “burns” on my stuffed animals, which helped me feel less alone. My mother made sure to take me out of the house sometimes, even if she had to wrap me in plastic to do so. And when she changed my dressings, my dad told me funny stories to distract me. It was still horribly painful, but I believe the psychic pain would have been worse if they’d done it any other way.

The only thing I wonder about is the scars I have. I knew someone at college who had similar injuries, and she did stay in a burn unit. Because she had continual access to sophisticated medical care, she was treated with an experimental medicine that kept her from scarring. I, on the other hand, have a lot of scars, which are still painful, and which I don’t much like the look of when I’m in a bathing suit, particularly a bikini. Somehow, though, I think these scars are less traumatic than the psychological ones I’d have suffered from months in a burn unit. At least that’s what I tell myself.

liz | 10:57 AM | Uncategorized

Breaking: Mayor Street is awake!

Sorry for those of you outside of the Philadelphia area, but it appears that this city’s mayor, John Street, is alive and cares about something other than his iPhone. I just got the below press release, and as a daily SEPTA rider/sufferer, I actually agree that something needs to be done to remedy this stupid decision that SEPTA made. Rather than raise the fair across the board, they are without question penalizing the poorest riders.

City of Philadelphia Files Injunction to Prevent SEPTA from Eliminating Transfers

Philadelphia, PA – The City of Philadelphia has requested an injunction from the Court of Common Pleas to prevent SEPTA from eliminating transfers on August 1, 2007. The City has repeatedly asked the SEPTA Board to halt its plans to eliminate transfers. Mayor John F. Street specifically asked SEPTA to reconsider on July 26, which SEPTA refused to do. Unless the Court grants an injunction, on August 1 SEPTA will require riders who use transfers to pay a full fare every time they get on a bus, trolley or subway.

For some riders the elimination of the transfer will mean a $6 cash fare instead of $3.20 for a one-way trip. For riders using tokens, it will mean $5.20 for a round trip on the bus and subway instead of $3.80 today. The City has consistently supported a fare increase that places equal burdens on all riders and does not single out low to moderate income riders for unfair treatment. The City believes that as many as 45,000 adult riders each day will be impacted by the transfer elimination.

The impact is even more disproportional on students, their parents and the school district. For the 32,000 school children who use SEPTA to get to school, this could mean a fare increase of to up $4.00 per day. The rate of the increases could be 100 percent to 200 percent. The School District and SEPTA have not reached an agreement and the SEPTA board will not meet until September 27, 2007. Some kids will be starting school in three weeks.

SEPTA has not provided any credible evidence of the savings and additional revenue from transfer elimination and has failed to adequately describe the financial impact on transfer users.

Of course, I’m sure there’s some weird political stuff going on here. Mayor Street hasn’t taken a stand this bold in some time, so you know the SEPTA stuff must be hitting him where he lives.

liz | 5:01 PM | Uncategorized

Depression Confession: Rebecca Romijn

She’s not really depressed, but she’s suffering from postpartum blues after her long-anticipated wedding. I also suffered from depression after my wedding, but maybe that was because our honeymoon was at the Jersey Shore. The divorce was far more painful — I hope Rebecca Romijn doesn’t suffer through that (again).

There are some celebrities I like, for no reason. I feel like she’d be nice to me, even though she’s way tall and fabulously pretty.

liz | 5:23 PM | Uncategorized

New drug fights prejudice

Anti-Bigotry Drug Shows Promise [The Spoof]

liz | 4:45 PM | Uncategorized

Parity On!: Why it matters

I’ve heard people say mental-health parity legislation won’t be very helpful if enacted, or that it shouldn’t be a priority for mental health advocates. I disagree. Why shouldn’t it be? I don’t want to pick my battles; I want to fight them all.

Mental healthcare services should not be regarded as a luxury, or a choice. Everyone should have equal access to healthcare. It’s fundamental. But insurance companies, of course, say it’s too expensive to cover mental health at the same rate.

How long will it take for people to recognize mental illness for what it is? I can’t believe the stigma that persists despite all the strides we’ve taken.

Mentally Ill Struggle With Lesser Insurance

liz | 2:37 PM | Uncategorized

Little slice o’ heaven

Hi all. I’m back! I put the exclamation mark at the end of that sentence to project happiness, although it’s always hard to return to real life after a vacation.

I fished successfully for the first time in my life. I caught about seven croakers and one spot, and let me tell you, they were delicious. I also went crabbing, but kept attracting teeny tiny ones and we were only allowed to take huge ones. So I didn’t get to eat any crabs. I also went digging for clams and found a few that are now chowder. We also got some mussels and oysters, but I don’t eat those, so I left that to Vince, my seafood companion. We took the boat out on the bay and motored over to a pretty beach on Assateague Island. I was looking for the wild ponies — another story altogether — but instead I stepped on an enormous stingray. I thought of poor Steve Irwin. The thing chased me around in the shallow water. It was mad at me.

I got too much sun, but happily endured the pain while I watched Animal Planet in our pretty little cottage, which we rented for the week. I didn’t eat too much sugar — just a couple of ice cream cones. The people next door had a pet bunny and a brown dalmatian. We cooked our food in the cottage kitchen almost every night, so it wasn’t too expensive. Really, I find being a hunter-gatherer quite delicious and cost-effective. We went to the carnival too. I felt happy and not depressed.

Getting away is good when I don’t get depressed or dissociative. You never know for sure if it’ll happen, but it’s usually worth the risk. Thanks to Alli for letting me go on vacation without worry. She was great.

liz | 11:37 AM | Uncategorized

Cute Fix: I’m sad to leave

I figured it’d be best to close like I started… with a picture of an adorable puppy. This is Lily, my mom’s dog, trying to look sad as my friend Emily G. takes her picture. While I can’t read dog minds, I can assure you that she was not as sad as she looks, certainly not as sad as I am to be saying goodbye.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Thanks for being so nice!

liz | 3:17 PM | Uncategorized

Woah! Misleading headline!

I feel like every few years this story comes out:

Smoking just one cannabis joint raises danger of mental illness by 40%

Which is pretty terrifying sounding. It’s like Reefer Madness all over again. That’s not to downplay any link that does exist (for teens that already display risk factors, a whole host of studies suggest that marijuana is harmful), but any implication that marijuana causes mental illness just out of the blue is movie-worthy. Armies of liberal arts school grads and aging hippies needing serious treatment because once — just once — they decided to take a toke from a doobie.

liz | 12:52 PM | Uncategorized