Mental Health

Lucky laboratory mice got to watch scenes from Orson Welles' classic Touch of Evil, starring Janet Leigh and Charlton Heston.

A Mouse Watches Film Noir And Offers Clues To Human Consciousness

4:36pm July 13, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

Researchers in Seattle have created a public observatory for studying the visual circuitry in a mouse's brain. Among the attractions: watching 18,000 neurons respond to Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

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A woman lobbying Congress holds two versions of naloxone which can be used to reverse an opioid overdose.

Opioid Bill Reframes Addiction As A Health Problem, Not A Crime

12:33pm July 13, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

The Senate bill, an amalgam of more than a dozen proposals, will expand access to medication-assisted treatment. It also will encourage police to send drug users to treatment rather than to jail.

Jason Olsen, a 39-year-old policy adviser for the Department of Labor, uses the Washington, D.C., Metro to commute to work three times a week. On the other days of the week, Olsen telecommutes from home to avoid the challenge of taking the Metro.

Workplaces Can Be Particularly Stressful For Disabled Americans, Poll Finds

9:14am July 13, 2016

by Yuki Noguchi

Many disabled adults want to work — and many do. But a survey shows that a workplace can be particularly stressful for them, and workplaces may not be doing enough to lower the stress.

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Overworked Americans Aren't Taking The Vacation They've Earned

2:16pm July 12, 2016

by Patti Neighmond

And they're not unplugging from email and text messages when they do get away, an NPR poll finds. "So they're taking their stress along with them wherever they go," says a Harvard scientist.

Hope Still Races Ahead Of Evidence In Magnet Treatment For Autism

7:00am July 09, 2016

by Robin Marantz Henig

A few people with high-functioning autism say they've been briefly helped by exposure to transcranial magnetic stimulation. But there's a cost, one mother found, to getting ahead of the science.

In Trying Times, A Mental Health Professional Advocates For Self-Care

6:10pm July 08, 2016

Blogger and mental health professional Jasmine Banks describes what it means to practice self-care in trying times.

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What An Hour Of Emotion Makes Visible

1:24pm July 08, 2016

by Alix Spiegel

Kim was an accomplished doctor with plenty of friends. But a few pulses from an electromagnet to her brain at age 54 made her reconsider how she sees herself — and the world.

'Unbroken Brain' Explains Why 'Tough' Treatment Doesn't Help Drug Addicts

5:24pm July 07, 2016

"We have this idea that if we are just cruel enough and mean enough ... to people with addiction, that they will suddenly wake up and stop, and that is not the case," journalist Maia Szalavitz says.

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Sitawa Wafula found out she had bipolar disorder at the age of 24.

Health & Safety

When I Was Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder, People Thought I Was Cursed

4:55pm July 05, 2016

by Sitawa Wafula

She's become an activist and here's her message: Talk to us, text us, give us data. Don't just build another mental institution.

News Assistant Max Nesterak tries to quit smoking using social science research.

Can Social Science Help You Quit Smoking For Good?

12:10am July 05, 2016

by NPR Staff

One of Hidden Brain's producers tries to quit smoking using three interventions drawn from social science research.

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