In Your Own Hands – Grief and Mindfulness Don’t Go Hand in Hand

Every Monday, my blog post “In Your Own Hands” is where I’ll be featuring articles I find interesting or that I think are a good resource to help you take charge of your health. What articles have you read recently that caught your attention? Leave a comment and let me know.

NIH-funded study suggests brain is hard-wired for chronic pain
Research conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stoke finds that chronic pain can be linked to the structure of person’s brain. It was found that in DTI scans researchers could predict pain and determine whether the subjects would recover or have persistent pain.

Pain Research by University of Kentucky Scientists featured on Cover of Science
Researchers at the University of Kentucky studied the opioid function at sites of pain modulation in the spinal cord showing that the opioid system was more important than they realized with the ability to indefinitely oppose chronic pain.

Predicting Who Will Have Chronic Pain
Findings that the structure of the brain predispose people to develop chronic pain after an injury could lead to changes in the way chronic pain patients are treated. Northwestern scientists who examined MRI scans of people who have new lower back injuries could predict which patients’ pain would persist.

Nondrug interventions can effectively improve time to fall asleep and total sleep time
Cognitive behavioral therapy is shown to help with sleep disturbance and insomnia.

Studies to Shed Light on How Early Experience Impacts Brain Development to Illuminate the Arc of Mental Illness
The National Institute of Mental Health awarded $10 million to establish research center on University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus.