Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists Find Genetic Links To Dyslexia
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia, the U.S. company 23andMe Inc, and the University of Edinburgh conducted what is considered the largest genetic study of dyslexia to date and published their findings recently in the journal Nature Genetics. (Nieto, 10/24)
"Our findings show that common genetic differences have very similar effects in boys and girls, and that there is a genetic link between dyslexia and ambidexterity," said lead researcher Michelle Luciano, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, in Scotland. (10/24)
In other brain research —
Kids who play video games have better memory and better control over their motor skills than kids who don’t, according to a new study looking at adolescent brain function. Video games might not be responsible for those differences — the study can’t say what the causes are — but the findings add to a bigger body of work showing gamers have better performance on some tests of brain function. That lends support to efforts to develop games that can treat cognitive problems. (Wetsman, 10/24)
Scientists can now "decode" people's thoughts without even touching their heads, The Scientist reported. Past mind-reading techniques relied on implanting electrodes deep in peoples' brains. The new method, described in a report posted Sept. 29 to the preprint database bioRxiv, instead relies on a noninvasive brain scanning technique(opens in new tab) called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). (Lanese, 10/24)
Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs as a by-product of a traumatic event you've experienced. Essentially, PTSD is a mental health condition that impacts your ability to regulate your fear response. While not every traumatic event will result in PTSD, it impacts around 12 million people yearly, with women being more likely to have PTSD symptoms. On the surface, PTSD can seem like an emotional response to stimuli. But that's not the full picture. Trauma changes how your body and brain work. PTSD is as much a physiological injury as a psychological one. That's a big claim, but let's dig into how PTSD is associated with changes in your brain and physical health. (Leamey, 10/25)
