Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Natural Remedies

Tackling Dental Access Problem About More Than Numbers, Says BDA
Research published by consumer organisation Which? highlights the well-publicised problems some patients face accessing NHS dental care, according to the British Dental Association (BDA). The consumer organisation"s research indicates that, while nine out of ten people who tried to see an NHS dentist in the last two years were successful, three million people could not get an appointment.
generic viagra online
New Mexico Department Of Health Announces Second Hantavirus Case In NM This Year
The New Mexico Department of Health announced today that a 65-year-old man from San Miguel County is hospitalized in critical condition at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque with the state"s second case of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome this year. The Department of Health confirmed the case of Hantavirus on Wednesday and is conducting an environmental investigation to look for places where the man may have been exposed to the virus.
News of the day
Early Childhood Health Interventions Could Save Billions In Health Costs Later In Life
Promoting the health of young children, before five years of age, could save society up to $65 billion in future health care costs, according to an examination of childhood health conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The results are published in the May 15, 2009, issue of Academic Pediatrics.
Cardiovascular

Identification Of Brain Difference In Psychopaths

Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King"s College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The results of their study are outlined in the paper "Altered connections on the road to psychopathy", published in Molecular Psychiatry. The research investigated the brain biology of psychopaths with convictions that included attempted murder, manslaughter, multiple rape with strangulation and false imprisonment. Using a powerful imaging technique (DT-MRI) the researchers have highlighted biological differences in the brain which may underpin these types of behaviour and provide a more comprehensive understanding of criminal psychopathy. Dr Michael Craig said: "If replicated by larger studies the significance of these findings cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system." While psychopathy is strongly associated with serious criminal behaviour (eg rape and murder) and repeat offending, the biological basis of psychopathy remains poorly understood. Also some investigators stress mainly social reasons to explain antisocial behaviours. To date, nobody has investigated the "connectivity" between the specific brain regions implicated in psychopathy. Earlier studies had suggested that dysfunction of specific brain regions might underpin psychopathy. Such areas of the brain were identified as the amygdale, ie the area associated with emotions, fear and aggression, and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the region which deals with decision making. There is a white matter tract that connects the amygdala and OFC, which is called the uncinate fasciculus (UF). However, nobody had ever studied the UF in psychopaths. The team from King"s used an imaging method called in vivo diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) tractography to analyse the UF in psychopaths. They found a significant reduction in the integrity of the small particles that make up the structure of the UF of psychopaths, compared to control groups of people with the same age and IQ. Also, the degree of abnormality was significantly related to the degree of psychopathy. These results suggest that psychopaths have biological differences in the brain which may help to explain their offending behaviours. Dr Craig added: "This study is part of an ongoing programme of research into the biological basis of criminal psychopathy. It highlights that exciting developments in brain imaging such as DT-MRI now offer neuroscientists the potential to move towards a more coherent understanding of the possible brain networks that underlie psychopathy, and potentially towards treatments for this mental disorder." Louise Pratt King"s College London


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009