http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a first-of-its-kind effort to illuminate the biochemical impact of trauma, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a connection between the quantity of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain, known as CB1 receptors, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic, disabling condition that can plague trauma victims with flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability. Their findings, which appear online today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, will also be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-brain-imaging-links-cannabinoid-receptors-post-traumatic.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:01 EST news287688428 A doctor-patient relationship built on trust and empathy doesn't just put patients at ease – it actually changes the brain's response to stress and increases pain tolerance, according to new findings from a Michigan State University research team. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-doc-empathy-patients-pain-tolerance.html Health Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:03:38 EST news273773004 Rhode Island Hospital and Auburn University researchers found a link between restrictive food intake, or excessive dieting, and an increase in suicide attempts in people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). The study focused on the acquired capability of suicide, which is one component of Joiner's (2005) interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide and is comprised of physical pain tolerance and lowered fear of death. The paper is published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, and is now available online in advance of print. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-restricted-food-intake-predictor-suicide.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:53:16 EST news258115981 Stories of athletes bravely "playing through the pain" are relatively common and support the widespread belief that they experience pain differently than non-athletes. Yet, the scientific data on pain perception in athletes has been inconsistent, and sometimes contradictory. Investigators from the University of Heidelberg have conducted a meta-analysis of available research and find that in fact, athletes can indeed tolerate a higher level of pain than normally active people. However, pain threshold, the minimum intensity at which a stimulus is perceived as painful, did not differ in athletes and normal controls. Their findings are published in the June issue of Pain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-higher-pain-tolerance-athletes-clues.html Medical research Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:02 EST news256407107 Hypnotherapist Dick Yu has a mission that seems unthinkable to some Hong Kong people: he wants to make the Asian financial hub's seven million residents laugh. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-laughter-clubs-stressed-out-hong-kong.html Psychology & Psychiatry Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:41:22 EST news252477673 A rattling good laugh with friends will help you deal with pain thanks to opiate-like chemicals that flood the brain, according to a British study released on Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-laughter-medicine.html Health Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:24:19 EST news235193038 Definitive proof of an adverse effect of chronic marijuana use revealed at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting could lead to potential drug treatments and aid other research involved in cannabinoid receptors, a neurotransmission system receiving a lot of attention. Scientists used molecular imaging to visualize changes in the brains of heavy marijuana smokers versus non-smokers and found that abuse of the drug led to a decreased number of cannabinoid CB1 receptors, which are involved in not just pleasure, appetite and pain tolerance but a host of other psychological and physiological functions of the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-molecular-imaging-chronic-marijuana-affects.html Neuroscience Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:00:26 EST news226584015