Greta Thunberg arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in London

Good news! Maybe this young woman (age 22) needs to cool off a little bit! Perhaps some medical treatment would not hurt either!

Activism for activisms sake! I am not sure this is a helpful therapy!

Someone who supports coward mass killers like Hamas is a serious concern! This is not a case of freedom of speech!

Why are the Western news media exploiting this young woman so often and give her celebrity status!

She suffers from multiple, developmental disorders: "... Eventually, she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and selective mutism. ..." (Wikipedia)

Caveat: I am not familiar with the circumstances of her arrest.

Greta Thunberg arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in London | Reuters

Credits: Greta Thunberg verhaftet: Unterstützung für Terrororganisation

Are We Overdiagnosing Mental Illness? Here's what Doctors Say with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! Palki says e.g. don't confuse momentary emotions with mental illness.

I have also for decades argued that mental illness is most likely overdiagnosed in Western countries.

It is good business for the medical profession! Individuals with diagnosed mental illness get more attention and treatment, excuses are easier and other benefits.

New scanning technique reveals ADHD brain differences

Good news!

"A new study significantly strengthens the case that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) brains are structurally unique, thanks to a new scanning technique known as the traveling-subject method. ...

A team of ... scientists ... has corrected the inconsistencies in brain scans of ADHD individuals, where mixed results from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies left researchers unable to say for certain whether neurodivergency could be identified in the lab. Some studies reported smaller gray matter volumes in children with ADHD compared to those without, while others showed no difference or even larger volumes. With some irony, it's been a gray area for diagnostics and research. ..."

From the abstract:

"Brain imaging studies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have not always yielded consistent findings, potentially owing to measurement bias in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.

This study aimed to elucidate the structural brain characteristics in children with ADHD by addressing measurement bias in multi-site MRI data using the harmonization method, traveling-subject (TS) approach.

The MRI data of 14 traveling subjects, 178 typically developing (TD) children, and 116 children with ADHD were collected from multiple sites. The TS method and ComBat were used to correct for measurement bias.

Gray matter volumes were estimated using FreeSurfer, and the ADHD and TD groups were compared using mixed-effect models. Compared to raw data, the TS method significantly reduced measurement bias while maintaining sampling bias. In contrast, ComBat effectively reduced measurement bias but also significantly decreased sampling bias. 

TS-corrected data showed decreased brain volumes in the frontotemporal regions in the ADHD group compared to the TD group. Specifically, significant volumetric reductions were found in the right middle temporal gyrus in children with ADHD (TS-corrected data: β = −0.255, FDR [family discovery rate] p = 0.001).

These results demonstrate that the TS method effectively reduces measurement bias across MRI scanners, ensuring reliable findings in multi-site studies. The observed frontotemporal volume reductions in ADHD, especially in the right middle temporal gyrus, highlight the reliability of findings obtained with TS correction."

New scanning method reveals ADHD brain differences

Novel Accurate Approach Improves Understanding of Brain Structure in Children with ADHD (original news release) "Magnetic resonance imaging often yields inconsistent results when assessing the brain’s structural characteristics in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To address this, scientists from Japan have used a harmonization method called traveling-subject (TS) to reduce measurement bias in brain imaging datasets from multiple sites. The TS harmonized datasets showed significant reductions in measurement bias and revealed apparent volumetric changes in specific brain regions, indicating promise for developing a more robust diagnosis for ADHD."

Brain structure characteristics in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder elucidated using traveling-subject harmonization (open access)

Fig. 3: The brain regions with significant differences between the ADHD and TD groups using multiple methods of correction in the mixed-effects model.

Reports Reveal More Abuse and Cover-Ups at Illinois institution for people with mental illnesses and developmental disorders

Unfortunately, these reports have been all too common for decades in Western countries.

At the same time, the massive deinstutionalization that happened in Western countries in the past several decades is not a good solution!

"Newly released reports from the Illinois Department of Human Services’ watchdog office reveal shocking instances of cruelty, abuse and poor care of patients who have mental illnesses and developmental disabilities at a state-run facility in rural southern Illinois.

The eight reports, obtained last month under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, provide new evidence of an ongoing crisis at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center ..."

Reports Reveal More Abuse and Cover-Ups at Choate — ProPublica Newly obtained documents echo our reporting on abuse, cover-ups and a “sense of impunity” at an Illinois institution for people with mental illnesses and developmental disorders. The governor has said Choate must be reformed.

How personalized brain organoids could help us demystify disorders

Good news!

"The researchers also grew organoids using cells from a 25-year-old woman and a 5-year-old girl with Rett syndrome, a [rare genetic neurological and] developmental disorder marked by seizures, autism and developmental lags. Rett syndrome is thought to be caused by changes in a gene called MECP2, mutations that the lab-grown organoids carried as well.

These organoids looked like those grown from healthy people, but behaved differently in some ways. Their nerve cells fired off signals that were too synchronized and less varied. Some of the brain waves these organoids produced are reminiscent of a brain having a seizure, in which a bolus of electrical activity scrambles normal brain business.

With organoids carrying Rett syndrome mutations, scientists can better understand the syndrome and even begin to test possible treatments. ..."

From the abstract:

"Brain organoids represent a powerful tool for studying human neurological diseases, particularly those that affect brain growth and structure. However, many diseases manifest with clear evidence of physiological and network abnormality in the absence of anatomical changes, raising the question of whether organoids possess sufficient neural network complexity to model these conditions. Here, we explore the network-level functions of brain organoids using calcium sensor imaging and extracellular recording approaches that together reveal the existence of complex network dynamics reminiscent of intact brain preparations. We demonstrate highly abnormal and epileptiform-like activity in organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells from individuals with Rett syndrome, accompanied by transcriptomic differences revealed by single-cell analyses. We also rescue key physiological activities with an unconventional neuroregulatory drug, pifithrin-α. Together, these findings provide an essential foundation for the utilization of brain organoids to study intact and disordered human brain network formation and illustrate their utility in therapeutic discovery."

How personalized brain organoids could help us demystify disorders | Science News Clumps of brain cells made from people with Rett syndrome had abnormal electrical activity

Identification of neural oscillations and epileptiform changes in human brain organoids (no public access, but the article above contains a link to the PDF file)