Brookhaven Hospital

According to findings from a recent study, prenatal alcohol exposure can harm the development of white matter. The damaging of white matter could help to explain visual processing deficits and executive dysfunction. According to Susanna L. Fryer, M.S. of the University of California San Diego, “Optimal white matter integrity is thought to support efficient cognition… [...]

Our attraction to specific foods that we think makes us feel better is based in our heads. Specifically, the insular cortex is associated with feelings of warmth on both physical and interpersonal levels. In an experiment involving two groups of undergraduate students who were exposed to holding warm and cold objects, in the first part [...]

A recent study, which was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, has discovered a link between lower childhood IQ and adult psychiatric disorders. According to the study mental health disorders including depression and schizophrenia may be predicted by lower childhood IQ. The researchers found that each standard deviation lowering IQ resulted in increased odds [...]

According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a genetic mutation may contribute to overeating. The study focused on a group of children who carried a variant of rs9939609, a fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene; in their tests, the researchers found that children who carried the variant gene ate [...]

Panic attacks may increase the risk for heart attack and coronary disease, according to recent findings published in the European Heart Journal. According to the findings, panic attacks, or disorder, before the age of 50 were associated with a 44% higher risk of coronary heart disease and a 38% higher risk of MI. According to [...]

Researchers believe they have found a mechanism linking binge drinking and atherosclerosis. According to John Cullen, Ph.D., of the University of Rochester, and colleagues, heavy drinking, binge drinking, causes an abundance of acetaldehyde which increases the adhesion of monocytes to cultured endothelial cells. This connection, between binge drinking and atherosclerosis, has been shown in previous [...]

According to the Framingham Heart study, published online in BMJ, a happy friend or family member living in close proximity can increase one’s own happiness significantly. Conversely, however, associations with person’s who were sad had much less of an impact. According to the study, having a happy friend or family member less than one mile [...]

The holiday season is a particularly rough time for individuals in treatment and their loved ones. For many who are in treatment during this season , it is a time of intense struggles, filled with feelings about being away from family and friends and managing cravings. Let's call the holiday period "a trigger" time for [...]

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous: do these groups really work? According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, supported by SAMHSA; participation in self-help and support groups works to maintain abstinence and sobriety. Almost one-third of the participants also attended specialty treatment for substance abuse while attending AA and NA groups. 45.1% abstained from [...]

The holidays are a great time for faith, family, fun, and great food… for most. For those that suffer from eating disorders the holidays can be a time of stress, or even worse, terror. According to Cynthia Bulik, director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program, “For some people, the holiday season is [...]