By Joseph Shapiro

It seems unfathomable that an Army psychiatrist trained to heal soldiers with psychiatric injuries could then fire on fellow soldiers.

This undated photo shows Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected shooter. (The Uniformed University of the Health Sciences/AP)

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is blamed for a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Nader Hasan, cousin of the alleged shooter, suggests that one factor may have been that the Army psychiatrist had treated scores of soldiers and Marines who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD.

"He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw there," Nader Hasan, told the New York Times. But he said he had no idea why his cousin may have shot other soldiers. The 39-year-old psychiatrist expected to be deployed soon to Iraq or Afghanistan but objected to the deployment, his cousin said. According to the Associated Press, Hasan was going to be part of a combat stress team that treats soldiers showing signs of psychiatric problems.

Continue reading "Suspected Fort Hood Shooter Saw the Toll of PTSD" >

By Joanne Silberner

Antipsychotic drugs used in kids can carry a steep health cost. Many children gain an unhealthy amount of weight after just a few months on the medicines.

Research just published in JAMA found the drugs led to weight gains ranging from about 10 to 19 pounds, depending on the medicine, in about 11 weeks. The analysis looked at popular brand-name drugs Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa.

The findings confirm what doctors pretty much already knew about the medicines. So why bother? For one, to tell doctors exactly what they can expect to see. Doctors have been prescribing these drugs more and more to kids -- not just for schizophrenia and bipolar disease, but also for attention deficit disorder.

Continue reading "Antipsychotic Drugs Add To Kids' Weight" >

by Deborah Franklin

When a pop star kills himself, or tries to, psychologists around the world hold their breath, waiting for the drop of the second shoe -- "copycat" suicides among depressed fans and others. But can the way the media covers these celebrity deaths really make a difference in then number of copycats?

We're not giving you any ideas. (iStockphoto.com)

Well, yes, accumulating evidence suggests. The latest report, a British study published online Wednesday in the journal PLoS One, used a computer simulation to test the power of that effect and found that the Internet may be amplifying the problem by extending the reach of such news, and elevating more and more people to celebrity status.

So what's a reporter to do?

Continue reading "Copycat Suicides: What's The Media's Role?" >

By Maggie Mertens

Most parents have heard that spanking your kids probably isn't the greatest use of a teachable moment, but can it actually lead to a lower IQ?

Professor Murray Straus says spanking hurts kids' IQs. (University of New Hampshire)

Murray Straus, professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, says yes, citing two studies he conducted.

In a study of American kids, Straus and a colleague asked parents of about 1,500 young children participating in an IQ research project how often they spanked their children.

The findings? The 2- to 4-year-old kids who weren't spanked at all, according to their parents, had IQs that were, on average, about five points higher after four years than the kids who were spanked. The same trend held for 5- to 9-year-olds, though the differences were less pronounced.

Continue reading "Does Spanking Make Kids Dumber?" >

By Joseph Shapiro

Since the 1970s, states have been closing down the large institutions that have historically housed people with mental illness. The "deinstitutionalization" movement came after those large state facilities were exposed as chaotic places where residents faced frequent abuse and poor care.

Large institutions like this one closed, but the alternatives are being questioned, too. (iStockphoto.com)

Now a judge in New York has ruled that what that state often offers instead--large group homes that sometimes house 120 to 200 people--also fails the people who live there. The decision applies specifically to adult homes in New York City, but it could influence courts in Illinois, Connecticut and other states that are facing similar cases.

Continue reading "NY Adult Housing Ruling Has National Implications" >

By Joanne Silberner

Depression doesn't carry the stigma it once did, but it is still tough to get people to talk openly about their personal experiences.

Depression hurts, and it's still hard for families to talk about. (iStockphoto.com)

I've been doing stories on mental illness for 15 years. When I started, very few people wanted to talk to a radio reporter about it. It's hard to be anonymous on the radio -- even if we change a name, which we only do under limited circumstances and with full disclosure -- the voice is still recognizable.

Back then, many people didn't want to talk about depression because they saw it as a weakness, not an illness.

Continue reading "Depression And Families' Fear Of Being Labeled" >

By Scott Hensley

A creepy crawley critter in your basement or proposals to overhaul health care can be downright frightening.

Joseph LeDoux (left) and the Amygdaloids.(William Chang)

And as NPR's Julie Rovner reports, opponents have been using scare tactics to fight changes to the American health-care system for just about as long as people have been trying to give it a makeover.

It turns out the foes of change are pretty smart because fear works. "Once fear is aroused and in your brain, it tends to take over and dominate," explains Joseph LeDoux, a New York University neuroscientist. It's also contagious.

But LeDoux, who's written tons of academic papers and several books on how the brain works, has his own viral way of spreading the science of the brain: rock music. He leads a band called the Amygdaloids, named for the almond-shaped region of the brain instrumental in the fear response.

The group of New York University researchers specializes in a genre they've dubbed "Heavy Mental," and has even played Madison Square Garden. OK, so it was for an NYU graduation ceremony. Still, pretty impressive.

Continue reading "Fear Factor: Don't Let NYU Prof Scare You" >