A new report from MIT researchers finds a correlation between climate change and an increase in mental health issues, writes Nicole Karlis for Salon. Research scientist Nick Obradovich explains that the study shows, “policymakers should be very actively considering how to increase societal resilience to our changing climate.”
CNN reporter Susan Scutti writes that MIT researchers have found that climate change could cause an increase in mental health issues. During a 30-day period, exposure to hotter temperatures and higher rates of precipitation “produced increases in the probability that people were going to report some mental health problem in that period,” explains research scientist Nick Obradovich.
MIT researchers find that hotter and more extreme weather can negatively impact a person’s mental health, reports Karen Kaplan for The Los Angeles Times. The researchers explain that, “given the vital role that sound mental health plays in personal, social, and economic well-being, our findings provide added evidence that climatic changes pose substantial risks to human systems.”
MIT researchers have developed neural networks that can recognize speech patterns that are indicative of depression, writes Anna Powers for Forbes. “Because the model is generalized and does not rely on specific questions to be asked,” explains Powers, “the hope is that this model can be implemented into mobile apps that will allow people to detect depression through natural conversation.”
In an article for The New York Times, Prof. Alan Jasanoff reviews Eric Kandel’s book, “The Disordered Mind.” Jasanoff writes that the book provides an engaging “overview of contemporary thinking about the intersection of mental health and neuroscience.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that MIT researchers have developed sensors that can track dopamine levels in the brain. The sensors could eventually be used to monitor “Parkinson’s patients who receive a treatment called deep brain stimulation,” Finucane explains, adding that the sensors could “help deliver the stimulation only when it’s needed.”
MIT researchers have developed a model that can help detect depression by analyzing an individual’s speech patterns, reports Kaveh Waddell for Axios. Waddell explains that the researchers, “trained an AI system using 142 recorded conversations to assess whether a person is depressed and, if so, how severely.”
MIT researchers have developed a new system that can detect depression by examining a patient’s speech and writing, reports John Biggs for TechCrunch. Biggs writes that the system could “help real therapists find and isolate issues automatically versus the long process of analysis. It’s a fascinating step forward in mental health.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that MIT researchers have identified the region of the brain responsible for generating negative emotions. “The findings could help scientists better understand how some of the effects of depression and anxiety arise, and guide development of new treatments,” Finucane explains.
Kate Baggaley writes for NBC News that movement tracking technology developed by MIT researchers can be helpful for monitoring the elderly or sick. The system could be used to monitor an elderly relative and, “receive an instant alert if he or she falls,” or a doctor could use it to monitor the progression of a patient’s disease, explains Baggaley.
By measuring how radio waves bounce off of human bodies, MIT researchers have developed a system that can track movements from behind a wall, writes Andrew Liszewski for Gizmodo. The researchers are working to improve on the current stick figure icons by “generating 3D representations that include subtle and small movements,” writes Liszewski.
CSAIL researchers have developed a new system that uses low-power radio waves to detect and track people behind walls, reports Matt Simon for Wired. The system, which can be used to detect signs of distress in elderly patients, also “distinguishes one person from another in the same way your fingerprint distinguishes you,” explains Prof. Dina Katabi.
CSAIL researchers have created a system that can sense a person’s movements through walls, writes John Biggs for TechCrunch. The system is primarily intended as a healthcare device and could help with “passive monitoring of a subject inside a room without cameras or other intrusions,” and could provide insight into disease progression, Biggs explains.
Fast Company reporter Melissa Locker writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows wireless devices to sense a person’s movement through walls. Locker explains that the technology was created as a way to help those who are elderly, as it could be used to “monitor diseases like Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis and provide a better understanding of disease progression.”
Prof. Daniel Jackson, MIT student Haley Cope and alumna Caterina Colon discuss the book “Portraits of Resilience” on Greater Boston with Jim Braude. According to Jackson, the hope is that by compiling the students’ stories and photographs into a book “people who were suffering could read these stories, look at these faces, and realize they were not alone.”