Mindfully Healing

Nine years before memory changes, this can signal problems. Changes in sense of humour could be an early sign of dementia, a new study finds. A shift to preferring slapstick humour — like Mr Bean — over satirical or absurdist comedy, such as Monty Python, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s. Friends and relatives of those with dementia reported seeing changes around nine years before the more typical memory problems. Dr Camilla Clark, who led the study, said: “As sense of humour defines us and is used to build

Sleeping at the right time is linked to lower levels of anxiety. People who go to sleep later tend to experience more repetitive negative thinking, research finds. Those who go to bed later also get more overwhelmed with negative thoughts than those who keep more regular sleeping hours. People who experience repetitive negative thinking typically feel they have little control over it. They worry too much about both the future and the past, and the thoughts tend to intrude into everyday life. These intrusive thoughts are linked to depression, anxiety

Autism research finds link between this vitamin and serotonin production. Many scientists have speculated that the problematic social behaviour of people with autism is related to low vitamin D and serotonin levels. Now a new study has found a causal link between vitamin D and three hormones which are important in social behaviour: serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin. Genetic research has shown that vitamin D hormone activates a gene which produces an enzyme leading to higher levels of serotonin (Patrick & Ames, 2014). In the brain, serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter,

New blood tests could take the guessing out of antidepressant prescriptions. Up until now doctors have essentially been guessing which antidepressant medication might work for patients. But now researchers have identified a blood test that could help. Dr Madhukar Trivedi, who led the research, said: “Currently, our selection of depression medications is not any more superior than flipping a coin, and yet that is what we do. Now we have a biological explanation to guide treatment of depression.” The blood test measures the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). They tested

Magnets could eventually be used to compensate for memory problems caused by dementia. Scientist have used magnetic stimulation to improve people’s memory, new research reports. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, helped people remember things they had heard more accurately. The magnetic stimulation worked when it matched the natural theta waves of the brain. Dr Sylvain Baillet, one of the study’s authors, explained: “For a long time the role of theta waves has been unclear. We now know much more about the nature of the mechanisms involved and their causal role