Abstract Early insults during critical periods of brain development, both prenatal and postnatal, can result in epigenetic changes that may impact health and behavioral outcomes over the life span and into future generations. There is ample evidence...
ABSTRACT A supportive early environment can strengthen the developing individual and build the foundation for a lifelong health. By contrast, severe stress can alter brain architecture and lead to increased susceptibility for psychopathology. There is...
“Doc, I just can’t keep track of my calories! Whenever I start recording it, I eat more.” I blinked. Surely not. “Let me see your record.” She grimaced but still passed over her smart phone. I scrolled and scrolled...
It's one of the worst fears we have for our parents or for ourselves: that we, or they, will end up in a nursing home, drugged into a stupor. And that fear is not entirely unreasonable. Almost 300,000 nursing home residents are currently...
One of my ongoing concerns as a legislator has been the health of children and families. Most recently, as a member of the Legislative Council Steering Committee for Supporting Healthy Early Brain Development, I've been working on policies that...
Despite their ubiquity in the media, gentrifying neighborhoods that evolve over time from low-income to well-off are quite rare. It is far, far more common that once-poor neighborhoods stay that way over time — or, worse, that they grow poorer....
America’s suburbs, now as diverse as large central cities were 30 years ago, are repeating the cycle of racial segregation and inequality that have haunted major cities for decades. Ferguson, Missouri, a stark example of this suburban...
It has been a long-standing assumption that physical activity positively impacts children and their development. Physically, youth are at a lower risk for developing Type II Diabetes as well as becoming obese. Emotionally, the endorphins...
It had been a hard week at work. After a year in which a remarkable number of things had gone well, I suddenly found myself in a series of difficult, disappointing conversations I had not expected. Toward the end of an especially challenging...
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday admonished former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his repeated recent comments that "responsibility is on the black community" for reducing the necessity of police officers in their communities. "I think he...
Everyday events are easy to forget, but unpleasant ones can remain engraved in the brain. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies a neural mechanism through which unpleasant experiences are...
If you want your child to tell the truth, it's best not to threaten to punish them if they lie. That's what researchers discovered through a simple experiment involving 372 children between the ages of 4 and 8. How the Experiment was Done The...
In October, Mark Lamster, architecture critic at The Dallas Morning News, issued an unusual call: Dallas, he said, should begin converting its many abandoned jails into hotels, schools and other facilities for reshaping the city. In his...
Teen and young adult drug use is a growing epidemic and the way we have thought about teen drug use and when to refer to treatment certainly needs to be rethought. The view from many professionals working in law enforcement, school systems, health...
About 10 to 20 percent of women suffer from new-onset depression during pregnancy or after giving birth. Untreated, the impact of such illness can be profound, ranging from substance abuse, poor prenatal care, and miscarriages to impaired infant...