Dopamine is part of an ancient neural pathway that ensures human survival. It is also part of the reason it is so hard to stop playing a video game or pass up a cupcake. Meredith Miotke/for NPR hide caption
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The TikTok app logo is pictured in Tokyo, Sept. 28, 2020. University of Wisconsin System officials said Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, that they will restrict the use of TikTok on system devices. Kiichiro Sato/AP hide caption
As kids return to school this fall, educators are prepared to deal with the continued mental health fallout of the disruptions of the pandemic. martinedoucet/Getty Images hide caption
As school starts, teachers add a mental-health check-in to their lesson plans
Linnea Sorensen attends Schaumburg High School in Schaumburg, Ill. Now that Illinois allows students to take up to five days off per school year for their mental health, she can stay home when she feels "not fully mentally there." Giles Bruce/Kaiser Health News hide caption
The label for a bottle of melatonin pills. Melatonin is a hormone that helps control the body's sleep cycle. Patrick Sison/AP hide caption
With many kids struggling emotionally, group of mental health organizations are pushing for increased investment in mental health services in schools. SDI Productions/Getty Images hide caption
State by state, here's how well schools are doing at supporting kids' mental health
As students have returned to school this year, mental health issues related to the pandemic are surging. Cavan Images RF/Getty Images hide caption
A girl looks out of her bedroom window as the sun is setting. Justin Paget/Getty Images hide caption
For a forthcoming study, researchers with the U.K.'s University of Bath and other schools spoke to 10,000 people in 10 countries, all of whom were between the ages of 16 and 25, to gauge how they feel about climate change. FG Trade/Getty Images hide caption
Students wear mask as they arrive at school for in-person learning at Holmes Middle School in Wheeling, Ill., on Oct. 21, 2020. Students in Illinois schools will be able to take up to five excused mental or behavioral health days beginning in January 2022. Nam Y. Huh/AP hide caption
A teenager receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey on Monday, April 19, 2021. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
Researchers surveyed people about their happy childhood memories and found that those who had more were much less likely to experience depression later in life. IvanJekic/Getty Images hide caption
Positive Childhood Experiences May Buffer Against Health Effects Of Adverse Ones
When children are held for long periods away in detention centers, such as this center for migrant children in Carrizo Springs, Texas, they may suffer psychological harm. Eric Gay/AP hide caption