Mental health

Boston.com reporter Allison Pohle writes about how stigmas against mental illness are fading on college campuses, highlighting the work of MIT’s Active Minds group, a student-led initiative aimed at raising awareness of mental health. 

Laura Krantz of The Boston Globe reports on the launch of the MindHandHeart initiative. “We really view this as the next logical step for us in our continuing process to address mental health and well-being on our campus,” says Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart.

Tech reporter Kath Xu writes about MIT’s new MindHandHeart initiative. “What we’re trying to do with the MindHandHeart Initiative is to help students manage stress, manage time, manage MIT,” explains Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart. 

Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes that MIT researchers have developed a new digitized pen that could be used to improve a test that screens for Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments. “What the pen does is capture the writing with considerable temporal and spatial accuracy,” Prof. Randall Davis explains. 

MIT researchers have developed a new tool that could be used to predict dementia earlier than is currently possible and with greater accuracy, reports Liat Clark for Wired. The researchers hope the new technique could be used to cut down on the number of “hours spent diagnosing, or potentially misdiagnosing, a disorder.”

Alexandra Ossola writes for Popular Science about a computer program created by MIT researchers that can aid in early detection of dementia by analyzing a patient’s drawings. The program “may enable doctors to diagnose patients much more quickly, and to intervene earlier to stave off the onset of cognitive degeneration.”

Karen Weintraub writes for The Boston Globe about Prof. Susumu Tonegawa’s research examining how triggering happy memories could help alleviate depression. “When that kind of technology is invented,” Tonegawa explains, “it could potentially become very powerful therapy.”

New research by Prof. Susumu Tonegawa presents the possibility that depression can be alleviated by recalling happy memories, reports Clive Cookson for The Financial Times. The findings suggest, "new ways to treat depression by manipulating memory neurons.”

Prof. Ki Goosens is investigating how the gherlin hormone could possibly be used to develop a vaccine for PTSD, reports Bree Sison for CBS Boston. “If we can pick even just one mental illness and improve the outcome for people who suffer from it, I’d be happy,” says Goosens. 

Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes about a new online networking tool developed by MIT researchers that has been found to be effective in helping people cope with anxiety and depression. Researchers found that those who used the tool were “writing about their issues much more."

Researchers from MIT and Northwestern have developed an online networking tool aimed at aiding people with anxiety and depression, reports Katie Collins for Wired. The tool, “allows people to build online support communities and practice therapeutic techniques among one another.” 

Karen Weintraub writes for The Boston Globe about Professor Temple Grandin’s talk at MIT about coping with stress. Grandin, who has autism, “said her anxiety has been transformed into hyper-vigilance. She’s aware of every little movement the airplane she’s riding on makes, but isn’t worried that the plane might crash,” Weintraub explains.