The trend to legalize cannabis is not yet accompanied by a solid body of research that would assure the parents of an adolescent, for example, that the use of cannabis from an early age is harmless. Indeed, some recent research suggests that at least some young users may be at considerable mental health risk if they regularly ingest high-potency cannabis. Dr. Martin Paulus, a researcher and expert on how substance use affects the brain, explains what we know and don't know, and offers advice for parents of adolescents.
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We write about a novel idea to address brain-based disorders that has moved from theory to bedside in only 3 years. Called closed-loop neuromodulation, it involves using electrical stimulation—delivered via an implanted deep-brain stimulation (DBS) device—at a precise location in the brain. The stimulation occurs intermittently throughout each day for only seconds at a time, and only at moments when a sensor placed in another part of the brain detects a specific EEG brain-wave pattern linked with the onset of a patient’s depressed moods. In its first clinical test, a treatment-resistant patient experienced a remission.
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In-depth discussion summarizing some of the most important findings to date about the possibility of using psychedelic compounds to treat individuals with psychiatric illness. We feature comments from experts in the field (several of them members of BBRF’s Scientific Council), who have been generally supportive, but careful, stressing what is known and what remains unknown about psychedelic-assisted psychiatric treatments. They have raised important questions about who should and should not be considered a candidate for such therapy and about the optimal conditions in which psychedelics should be administered.
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A Q&A with Dr. Kimberly Carpenter of Duke University, who has conducted important research on preschoolers with overly sensitive senses—children who are intensely bothered by stimuli such as loud or high-pitched sounds, or the sensation of clothing rubbing on the skin. Her research has shown that these children are at greater risk for developing an anxiety disorder by school age. She also discusses sensory oversensitivity and autism spectrum disorder.
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